A Reaper's Awakening
by Storm VII
Summary: After being thrown into the cauldron, Ragna the Bloodedge finds himself in Ylisse where he meets Chrom, Fredrick, and Lissa. What does fate have in store for the Grim Reaper? Why was he thrown into a conflict with Plegia, which he knows next to nothing about? Will include new, unique support conversations. Ragna x Harem in later chapters.
1. A New Beginning

_Chapter I: A New Beginning_

' _What happened?'_ the Grim Reaper thought to himself as he slowly emerged to consciousness. His sight was blurred as he regarded darkened shapes in front of him. Ragna the Bloodedge had found himself in another strange situation. After finally defeating the Imperator and Yuuki Terumi in what was to be their final battle, the latter of the two had unleashed his final move in the brink of death; try to trap the reaper in the last cauldron. Ragna had finished Terumi himself, but had fallen into the Boundary in the process. He couldn't remember the details of what he'd experienced in there… but something told him he didn't want to.

"Chrom, we have to do SOMETHING," a feminine voice said.

"What do you propose we do?" asked a masculine one.

"I dunno," the first voice responded.

Ragna grunted as he tried to adjust himself so he could make his way to his feet, only to find that his right arm wasn't moving. He internally groaned; this had happened far too many times. His vision was much less blurred now, but his right eye had refused to open, indicating the absence of Seither. _Damn, now my BlazBlue isn't working… again._

"I see you're awake now," said the masculine voice once more. Ragna noticed that the man was wearing a strange style of cerulean clothing and silver armor and had blue hair to match his clothes. He had a strange symbol on his arm and carried a sword at his side.

"Hey there," the feminine voice said to him before giving a small giggle. The women had blonde pigtails wearing an odd yellow and white dress.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground," the blue haired man said. "Give me your hand." The man extended his hand. Ragna grabbed it with his left hand as the man helped him to his feet. Ragna was a few feet taller than the other man, so he stumbled slightly when he got up.

"Thanks, Chrom," he said once he made his way to balance at full height. Looking around he noticed a brown haired man in armor was also with them. The man carried a lance and was closer to Ragna's height, but the Reaper was still the taller of the two by a matter of inches.

"You know who I am?" the blue haired man asked suspiciously.

Ragna rolled his open eye. "Didn't she just say your name?" he stated, referring to the young woman.

"Oh, I suppose she did," Chrom admitted blushing. "What's your name then?"

"Ragna," the Reaper responded simply, trying to get his bearings. He noticed that he still carried his sword, Blood-Scythe, but without access to any Seither, it was unlikely the sword would ever shift back to scythe form.

"I'm Lissa, Chrom's little sister and their healer" the blonde woman said. "And mister stoic over there is Fredrick."

The knight nodded to Ragna, who returned the gesture. "Where are you from?" Fredrick asked.

"Ever hear of a place called Kagutsuchi?" Ragna asked. Fredrick regarded his travelling companions for their input before shaking his head. _Crap._ "I didn't think so, it's pretty far away." _Not the complete truth, but certainly not a lie._

"Milord," Fredrick spoke. "I think it would be best if we took this man back with us for questioning. It would be foolish to ignore him as a threat. A bandit posing as a foreigner is common occurrence these days."

Ragna considered making a break for it, but decided against it. If he was going to be stuck in this place, better clear up any signs of trouble; he was tired of constantly being a wanted man. "Whatever, let's go," he said, surprising the other three.

The group started travelling, before Lissa decided to bombard Ragna with questions. "So how long have you been in Ylisse?"

"Just got here," Ragna said truthfully. _So this place is called Ylisse, better make a note of that._

"What's the place you're from like?"

"It's a far cry different from here. We don't have many nosy healers there."

"Sounds like I'd be pretty popular then," Lissa said, grinning. Ragna gave a small chuckle. "Where'd you get that sword? It looks pretty unusual."

"From my mas-," Ragna started to answer before noticing something in the distance. His eye widened. "SHIT!" he yelled before running off.

(Cue Ragna's theme _Rebellion II_ )

"WAIT!" Fredrick yelled before chasing after the red coated man on his horse, Chrom and Lissa following as fast as they could. Ragna's speed surprised Fredrick. How was a man with one good arm and eye able to match the pace of his horse? Fredrick quickened his pace once he noticed what Ragna had been running towards; South Town, covered in flames.

There were a total of seven bandits around the town, some of them attacking townsfolk others knocking over harvest stands and causing damage. One of them had cornered a small crying child. The bandit had a sadistic smile on his face as he raised his blood rusted axe.

"Don't worry kid! IT ONLY HURTS-!"

Whatever the thug had been about to say would remain a mystery, for Ragna had cut him in half at the torso with Blood-Scythe. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he yelled at the child. The kid nodded as she ran out of the square. Ragna noticed Chrom and the others had caught up to him. "Chrom! Fredrick! Take those bandits to the right! I've got the ones to the left! Lissa! Stay behind them and heal them when they get wounded!"

Before any of them could respond the Reaper ran off towards his group of bandits.

"Looks like we got a crippled here!" one of the bandits jeered as he threw a throwing axe at Ragna (yes I know the real fights are a bit different, just bear with me). "Say goodnight Grandpa!"

Ragna deflected the axe with ease off of Blood-Scythe before rushing the man and cutting him in half. Two more bandits (both myrmidons) rushed at Ragna with bronze swords. " **Infernal Divider!** " he shouted as he killed one with a massive upper cut slash. The other one could only watch as Ragna launched himself out of sword reach. " **Belial Edge!** " Ragna shouted as he changed his trajectory midair and impaled the swordsman.

On the other side of town, Chrom and Fredrick had taken out one bandit each without any difficulty. What they hadn't noticed was a lone fire mage about to kill Lissa with a spell. Ragna had been trained by Jubei to notice details in combat so now he knew what the cloaked figure was about to do, and how to avoid it.

"FREDRICK! GUARD LISSA!" Though Fredrick may not have trusted Ragna, his trust meant little when his friends' lives were in danger. He quickly covered Lissa with his armor and took the fireball spell, only lightly damaging the trained knight. Ragna then rushed the mage from behind and killed him with a single swing with his sword. Lissa had been able to treat Fredrick's wounds rather easily with her staff.

Suddenly, a scream was heard behind the four. Ragna turned and saw the bandits' leader grabbing the girl from before, his axe pressed closely to her neck. "You listen here! Put down your weapons or else the kid gets it!"

Ragna glared at the man in hatred, before noticing where the bandit was standing. "You hurt one hair on her and you'll have to beg me to kill you."

"Nice try bastard!" the thug yelled. "I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU!"

"You should be. Hey kid, it's gonna be alright. Just close your eyes." The child had a fearful look in her eyes, but complied. Ragna approached the bandit threatening the child, his sword still drawn.

"I'm warning you!" the bandit said, taking a step back. That had been what Ragna was hoping for. The fear filled bandit hadn't been paying attention to the destroyed stand he'd been standing beside, one that had been filled to the brim with apples. The thug's weight might have been enough to crush said fruit, but with such unease, light steps, and obliviousness to his surroundings, he lost his balance completely.

" **CARNAGE SCISSORES!** " Ragna yelled as he performed a massive dashing slash. Due to experience in combat, it was a simple matter to avoid the child in his attack. His sword cut through the bandit cleanly, killing him on the spot. The Reaper reset his sword before catching the child in his arm. The bandit hit the floor in a muffled thud, crimson liquid emerging from the massive cut in his chest.

(End song)

"Rose!" a woman's voice called out. The child's mother came out and the child ran out of Ragna's arm embraced her mother. Ragna let out a small breath of relief, things had fortunately gone according to plan.

"Hold on!" he heard Chrom's voice behind. Ragna turned to face the young lord. "I know we misjudged you from the start, but we need someone like you. All of our towns have been plagued by bandit attacks and you're one of the few people strong enough to stand against them. Come with us."

"Milord, are you sure?" Fredrick asked. "We still barely know a thing about him."

"He saved an entire town, almost by himself! If there was any reason to distrust him those reasons are gone." Chrom turned to Ragna. "Well, what do you say? Are you willing to join the Sheppard's?"

Ragna was silent for a moment as he pondered over the possibilities. _This isn't even any of my business, but I can't just turn my back on this. Not with innocent people getting involved._ He sighed. "I'll go with you guys for now, but I can't give any promises about joining."

Chrom nodded. "That's fair I suppose, thanks Ragna."

"Whatever, let's try and get some of these fires out."

After the group had assisted putting most of the fires out, Fredrick spoke to Chrom about the Bandit attack. "Milord, did you notice that the bandits spoke with a Plegian accent?"

"What do you mean by Plegian?" Ragna asked. Fredrick narrowed his eyes at the man's question.

"Plegia neighbors Ylisse to the west," Chrom explained. "Relations have never been good between us, but recently they've been taking to attack the country side by hiring bandits or posing as bandits themselves."

"So they're trying to provoke a war," Ragna summarized. "What the hell do they think they could possibly get out of it?"

"Honestly I'm not sure. Either they're doing this out of a blood feud, or they're trying to take our land and expand their kingdom. Those are the only two that come to mind."

Ragna thought to himself for a moment before voice his concerns aloud. "If it was for land, they'd send all of the bandits and mercenaries they've hired with their own armies and try to take your capitol so that the rest of Ylisse would fall easier. They're current method is destroying the land, which brings its value down if they wanted to take over. Sounds like a blood feud is more likely."

Lissa sighed. "And because of that blood feud townsfolk are being killed. Innocent townsfolk who probably don't have anything to do with it and can't stand up for themselves."

"Don't let it cloud your judgment," Fredrick advised. "We'll certainly deal with this problem, but it's important to keep out wits about us until we do. Your energy is better spent helping those who need it than worrying over them."

Lissa nodded. "You're right. I guess I'll just have to get used to it."

A man from the village came up to the group. "Milord, we insist you stay with us. We are but common farm folk, but we'd gladly hold a feast for your valor."

"Thanks but no thanks," Ragna grunted. "The whole valor scene never sat well with me."

"Besides," Fredrick said, with that signature grin that Lissa and Chrom feared. "We had best report back to the capital as soon as possible. I appreciate your generous offer, but I'm afraid we can't accept."

"What!?" Lissa exclaimed. "We're not even spending the night? Fredrick it's nearly dark!"

"Get used to it," Ragna said bluntly. Lissa stuck her tongue out at the Reaper, causing him to chuckle. "What are you, five?"

"If you two are done, shall we get going?" Chrom asked smirking.

"Yeah, yeah," Ragna said groaning as he started walking out of town. He heard a voice called behind him and saw Rose and her mother waving at him as he left. Ragna gave a small grin as he waved back himself. This world certainly wasn't the peaceful one, but it was a chance for a fresh start.

 **Authors Note:**

 **I don't own BlazBlue or Fire Emblem.**

 **Well, that's chapter one of my first Fire Emblem fiction. I know this would normally be put under crossover, but since the only outside character situation I'm planning on doing is Ragna as Robin, I'm pretty sure this still qualifies as a Fire Emblem fiction. I'm going to be uploading this fiction either semi-weekly like the others ones or monthly.**

 **Along the way of this story, I'll give Ragna his own unique support conversations so that I'm not just rehashing Robin's convos. Not sure if I'm going to have him marry or not. Rate, review, enjoy, and I'll see you next chapter.**

 **Ciao.**


	2. From Darkness

_Chapter II: From Darkness_

Ragna and Chrom's small group of Sheppard's made their ways through the forest, all of them on their way to the capital. Night had started to fall over the country side, but that wasn't going to be a problem for Ragna. As his world's most wanted criminal, he was already used to traveling under the cover of night, so even with one eye he was able to make his way without a problem through the darkened forest.

"*Huff*… *Huff*… Ragna… slow down!" the Reaper heard Lissa call. He glanced behind him and saw that Chrom, Fredrick, and Lissa were already starting to fall behind. He sighed as he slumped against a nearby tree. It didn't take long for them to catch up, but when they did Lissa sagged to her knees and continue panting.

"Sorry about that," Ragna said simply.

Chrom gave Ragna an awkward smile; though he was clearly in better shape than Lissa, he was already covered in sweat. "I think we should stop for the night; we don't want to get lost in the darkness."

"No arguments there," Ragna agreed, even though he wouldn't be the one to get lost. "I'll go grab some firewood, anyone want to come with me?"

"I'll go with Fredrick and see if we can find some game to eat," Chrom responded. "Lissa, go help Ragna gather some firewood, alright?"

"…Okay," Lissa nodded as she made her way to her feet.

Chrom and Fredrick made their way one direction while Ragna and Lissa went the opposite way.

"I'll grab the larger logs, you see if you can find some kindling," Ragna told his companion.

"Hey, I'm capable of taking some of the large logs too!" Lissa declared. She then spotted a decently sized log and attempted to pick it up. It didn't budge. She huffed as she tried with all of the strength to lift the damn thing, but to no avail. "Stupid LOG!" Lissa shouted as she kicked it. Her face tensed as she made contact with it. She held her foot and groaned in pain.

"You alright?" Ragna asked.

"Stop treating me like I'm fragile!" Lissa glared at the Reaper. Ragna sighed.

"Looks like your fine," he said simply. "Nice work finding the log though." He lifted the log up with his one good arm like it was nothing.

"Ugh!" Lissa vented as she proceeded to grab some kindling. "Let's go!" With that the young maiden stomped off back to the campsite.

' _Was it something I said?'_ the Reaper thought to himself, as he followed to fuming Lissa.

When they arrived back at the campsite Fredrick and Chrom hadn't returned yet so Ragna started grabbing rocks to make a fire ring. Once that was done, he used one of the matches he'd kept in his coat for emergencies. With the fire started he turned his attention to Lissa, who'd had her back turned to him the entire time.

"Look, if I said something back there to make you upset I'm sorry, all right?"

Lissa looked back at Ragna and continued glaring at him, before sighing. "No… you didn't do anything. It's just… frustrating."

"What do you mean?" the Grim Reaper asked as he began to stroke the fire.

"It's that… I see Chrom and Fredrick on the front lines all the time, giving it their all, but where am I. I'm at the back, healing them and trying not to hold them back. I just want to prove I can stand by myself, I don't need anyone to coddle me."

' _Shit,'_ Ragna thought to himself. ' _I'm really not good with this sort of stuff... but I can't just say nothing and let her fume.'_ "And you're saying you don't give it your all?"

"Of course I-!"

"Then consider this, how many times have you had to heal those two after a fight?"

Lissa thought to herself for a moment. "I lost count, but well over twenty times, why?"

"You're their healer," Ragna explained. "You're doing what you're supposed to. Sure it may not be the most glamorous part of the team, but it's one of the most necessary. It's no overstatement that the team owes all of their victories in a large part to you. You have your part to play to them, so play it. Chrom's good at swinging a sword; you're good at making sure he's fit to do it. No one's coddling you, their making sure you're able to do the job to the best of your ability, just like what you're doing."

Lissa was surprised at Ragna's views; she'd seen him as more of a front line warrior, not a philosopher. "I… I've never thought about it that way… I guess you're right; I just need to stick with what I've been doing all along." She smiled. "You're a lot nicer than you look, thanks Ragna."

Ragna scoffed. "I've heard THAT way to many times before… but you're welcome."

A few minutes later Fredrick and Chrom returned with a freshly slain bear. Over the campfire dinner Lissa complained about how her food smelled like boots, Chrom tried to convince her that it was just meat, and Fredrick tried not to have any claiming 'he had a big lunch.' Ragna gave a small smile, he could get used to this.

*Time Skip*

It was late at night when Chrom's voice woke Ragna from his sleep. "It's just a strange feeling I'm getting. Go back to sleep."

"Now way, I'm going with you," Lissa's voice said.

Chrom sighed. "Fine, but don't wake the others."

"Kinda late for that," Ragna said, making his way to his feet.

"Sorry if I woke you," Chrom said to his new friend. Ragna waved it off.

"I'm a light sleeper. Let's wake Fredrick and check it out."

The four later traveled the woods in relative darkness, each of them searching for whatever was giving Chrom the strange feeling. After a while, Fredrick who was riding on horseback decided to speak up. "Milord, there's no sign of anything unusual, might it have been your imagination?"

"I guess that's all it was," Chrom admitted, sighing. "Sorry about this everyone, let's get some rest."

"…It's too quite," Ragna stated. Everyone observed and found that the Reaper was right; no birds chirping, no insects buzzing, absolutely nothing. "Wait…"

Suddenly the very ground beneath them shook with tremendous force. The four struggled as the saw the tree's start to quickly fall behind them.

"RUN!" Chrom shouted. The group needed no further motivation and took off. Behind them a wall of lava emerged from where the ground had been split in two, send out massive fire balls. Another shock wave was emitted knocking Lissa off her feet.

Chrom was about to call out her name, but Ragna fearlessly sprinted back to her, avoiding a fireball. Using his good arm he hefted her over his shoulder like a sack of flour and took off running. When he caught up with Chrom and Fredrick, the two gave him the strangest looks he'd seen.

"Oh, GROW UP! I'm saving her life here!"

After a moment, the vibrations ceased. Ragna set Lissa on her feet. She hastily thanked Ragna while her face was crimson. Ragna gave a sigh of relief. _Looks like I'm capable of saving someone after all._

"Milord!" Fredrick yelled. There was a massive concentration of magic in the air, and there was something dropping from it; dark corpse like figures that held weapons. They charged at the group, not hesitating for a moment.

Chrom guarded against an axe wielder while Fredrick slew the fiend on his lance, the figure dissolved into a dark mist. A lance wilder charged Ragna and Lissa, the Reaper simply deflected the attack with Blood-Scythe before impaling it on the blade. The creature gave a death shout from upon the blade, Ragna simply impaled it further.

The creature gave a pathetic groan as it dissolved into shadows… only the shadows didn't fade. They went straight into Ragna's right arm, the BlazBlue.

"What the-?" the Reaper shouted as his arm gave a small pulse. In that moment, he could feel it and move it again. Hesitantly, he tried to open his right eye. The eye opened without a problem, showing the blood-red iris.

"What's going on?" Chrom asked Ragna, his eyes narrowed. "Are you tied to these things somehow?"

"I doubt it. They're not wearing a style of amour I'm familiar with back home. If anything, they look like they're from here. No clue about my arm though." _Are these things made out of Sethir?_ Ragna's thoughts were interrupted as more of the things made their way out of the trees. "They're showing up too randomly! Chrom go with Fredrick to the left flank; I'll take the right with Lissa! And stay away from the bushes!"

Chrom nodded as he and Fredrick proceeded to charge the creatures. Chrom slashed one across the body before turning and impaling one behind him. Fredrick himself was making himself useful by riding around Chrom and preventing most of the risen from getting through while impaling one when the change presented itself.

Now that Ragna had both of his arms he was a DEMON in combat. He combined his sword slashes with unarmed strikes to maximize his kill count. He may have just gotten his arm back, but he was killing more risen than Fredrick and Chrom put together, and each one's residual energy was being absorbed by his BlazBlue.

"Captain Chrom! We- THE HELL?!" a curt female voice yelled from horseback when she saw Ragna fighting of his hoard of risen by himself.

"My, my. Seems you know quite the frightening individual my dear Sully," a flowery masculine voice followed.

"First time seeing him, so I don't know jack! And can it with the 'dear' shit ruffles!"

Even in combat, Ragna had to sigh then. _Great, I found this worlds' Kagura._

Within a few minutes, the entire hoard of risen had been wiped out. "What are you doing here Sully?" Chrom asked the woman.

"I was on patrol when I got followed by ruffles here. The idiot kept shouting crap about destiny, searching the ends of the earth, and never letting me get away."

 _Yep, definitely Kagura,_ Ragna thought. _Except now, he's French._

"Since he wasn't listening to me I decided to let my foot do the talkin'." Ragna chuckled in approval. "Shortly after that, those things showed up… and after that we were helped out by this strange guy in blue that left after they were gone. 'Called himself Marth."

The name startled Chrom. "Marth, as in the Hero King of legend?"

"Yeah," Sully admitted. "I was surprised too, but he fought like nothing I've seen before… until I met this guy!" she gestured at Ragna. "What the hell did you have to do to fight like that?"

Ragna chuckled. "Simple, find the most powerful being in the world and become his apprentice for a decade. I'm Ragna by the way." He held out his hand and Sully shook it.

"Name's Sully, I'm a knight for the Sheppard's.

"And I," 'ruffles' began, "Am Virion. The archest of archers and the sharpest of sni-"

"We get it," Ragna groaned. "You can use a bow, no need to shower yourself in titles."

"As interesting as this has been," Fredrick said. "I think it's high time we made our way back to the capital. The sun will be up soon."

Everyone nodded as they headed out. But before leaving, Ragna looked back at a risen who'd finished dissolving, but the shadows were still there. He made his way over to the spot and the shadows were again absorbed into his right arm.

 _This stuff ain't Seither, but my BlazBlue still draws off of it and can be powered by it. Either the two are compatible, or the Boundary messed me up more than I thought. I should kill more of those things if I come across them, I should also see if I can train myself to minimize the usage of Seither._

Ragna sighed as he made his way to catch up with the others. _Looks like I've got my work cut out for me._

*Ylisstol*

"So this is the capital," Ragna stated as they walk through Ylisstol. "Looks like they haven't been affected by any of what we went through yet."

"Yes," Fredrick agreed. "I suppose we've that to be thankful for."

"The Exalt is greeting us," an elderly gentleman called out. Ragna turned and saw a woman in green robes being escorted by several guards. She seemed benevolent in nature and gave the crowd a warm smile and a friendly wave.

 _So the leader of the kingdom thinks it's safe to walk through the crowd, and she gives them all a calm and soothing presence. That couldn't be any more different from the Imperator… Saya._ He shook his head. _No, what's done is done; I can't mope around like this._

"You seem interested in the Exalt," Lissa noticed standing beside Ragna.

"She just seems to bring this calm feeling, just her being here makes feel at peace."

Lissa nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean." A thought crossed her mind and she grinned. "I can help you meet her if you want."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Lissa said smirking. "I'm sure my big sis would love to meet you."

Sadly, this didn't have the shocking impact on Ragna that she'd wanted. "Oh, so that makes you royalty, huh? 'Could've fooled me."

"Hey!" Lissa yelled slapping his arm. "Meanie…"

Chrom chuckled at the two and even Fredrick had to crack a small grin. "They're quite the pair aren't they?"

"I won't deny it."

"We can both hear you," Ragna decided to remind him.

"Oh, we're well aware," Chrom responded laughing. "Ready to meet the Exalt?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ragna responded. "Lead on Princy.

 **Author's Note: I don't own BlazBlue or Fire Emblem.**

 **Well, chapter 2 was more of a setup more than anything else. There haven't been any Support Convo's yet just so you all know. If one does come up I'll be sure to announce it.**

 **As the war with Plegia begins, it seems like I've created another war; a shipping war. I know you all have an idea of who to pair Ragna with and I love the enthusiasm, but give the support conversations a chance, they could tide you over in the end.**

 **Anyways, this chapter was off schedule, I just ended up doing it cause I felt like it. Rate, review, and I'll see you next chapter.**

 **Ciao!**


	3. Chance Meetings

_Chapter III: Chance Meetings_

Chrom, Fredrick, Lissa, and Ragna made their way to into the palace throne room. They saw the Exalt seated on the throne, talking to Phila, one of her military advisors and closest friends. Their conversation drew to a close and the two noticed the group approaching.

"Welcome home," the Exalt said to Chrom and Lissa with that warm smile Ragna had seen in the square. He crossed his arms and waited on the conversation.

"It's good to be home, Emmeryn," Chrom said. "Sad to say, we've witnessed our fair share of action these past few days."

"You're speaking of the bandits?" Despite Emmeryn's calming voice, Ragna could clearly see the worry in the Exalts eyes and her genuine concern for her people.

"Yeah," Lissa confirmed. "But we also came across these weird zombie things."

"So you've come across them too," Phila noted. "We've had signs of them appearing all throughout Ylisse. We're suppressing them as best as we're able, but we were about to host a council meeting to discuss our options moving forward."

"Sounds good," Chrom acknowledged, making his way out of the throne room.

"Just a moment Chrom," the Exalt said to her younger brother, the prince stopped and turned to her. "Who is your new companion that you've brought here."

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to forget you." Ragna shrugged; didn't make any difference to him.

"I'm Ragna," he said bluntly. Both Fredrick and Phila narrowed their eyes; even if she didn't expect it, those who stood before Lady Emmeryn should address the Exalt with the greatest of courtesies. This random traveler was acting on the very borderline of familiarity.

"A pleasure to meet you Ragna," Emmeryn said. "I hope that my brother and Fredrick managed to keep you safe on your journey to Ylisstol."

"About that," Chrom began, scratching the back of his head. "He was the one who kept us safe. If it hadn't been for Ragna, none of us would be standing here right now."

"Truly?" Emmeryn asked shocked. Lissa nodded her head in confirmation. "Thank you, Ragna. You've helped saved the life of my younger siblings, something I will never forget."

"No problem."

 _'No Problem?'_ Fredrick thought to himself. This man could be asking for anything that the kingdom could offer right now; gold, status, supplies, yet he regarded this as any other event? _'This man is becoming_ _stranger and stranger the more I see of him.'_

"A moment, your Grace."

Emmeryn regarded the Knight. "Yes Fredrick?"

"Milady, while Ragna here has performed a great deed he has only identified himself as a traveler and nothing more. He remains an enigma to all of us and I am still speculative of his true intentions. It was also revealed that he may have some ties to the corpse-like creatures we met in the woods. He may be a great asset as of right now, but what's to stop him from becoming our greatest threat?"

"Fredrick!" Chrom exclaimed.

"And do you still trust in this man Chrom and Lissa, despite what Fredrick says?" Emmeryn asked, though not unkindly.

"Ragna fought to save Ylissian lives without a second thought. Mysterious as his origins may be, I believe that he's to be trusted. He earned that much after saving Southtown."

"Yeah, he's on our side!" Lissa supported.

Emmeryn smiled. "Then I will put my faith in him as well, but thank you for your concern Fredrick. We may need it in our coming days."

"Milady."

Emmeryn looked towards Ragna. "If you do not mind, I would like to talk with you further Ragna. Perhaps after the meeting? I'll admit I'm interested in our newest Shepherd."

"Actually, Ragna's not a Shepherd yet. He-"

"-Just joined," Ragna interrupted. "And I am willing to talk later."

"What? I thought you said you couldn't make any promises," Chrom reminded.

"That was before I saw how bad things were. If bandits were the lesser of the two problems I can at least lend my sword arm."

"And your tactics," Chrom added. "We're actually in need of a field tactician."

"Fine, but I'll need some books to help me get started. Everything I know about tactics is only second hand knowledge."

"I'll ask if we have anything in the library later," Chrom assured him. "Right now we should be heading for the meeting."

As Chrom, Phila, Fredrick, and Emmeryn made their way to the throne room, Lissa grabbed Ragna's arm.

"Come on, there's somewhere I need to show you!" she said playfully as she proceeded to drag the newest Shepherd off.

"HEY! I'm coming! You don't have to drag me!"

Chrom laughed at the scene, a man who could take out an entire battalion of an unknown threat with ease was still getting dragged around by a woman who was almost half his size. Ragna was quite the strange individual... he'd fit in great with the rest of the Shepherds.

* * *

"Here we are! Welcome to the Shepherd's Garrison!"

Ragna looked around. It hadn't taken them long to get here; he could still see the palace in the distance. The Garrison had several rooms including a storeroom, several living quarters, a meeting room, and a large training yard. He was currently in the training yard with Lissa, watching as Sully dueled a well-built blonde haired man wielding an axe.

"LISSA!" the two heard from behind. Ragna saw a woman with blonde curls and a parasol in her hand approach them. He couldn't explain it, but somehow this woman reminded him of the Rabbit.

"Hey Maribelle!" Lissa said cheerfully. "What's got you in such a rush?"

"You do!" she shouted. "I just heard from Sully about the ordeal you went through! I almost fainted after hearing how you were forced to survive against those filthy creatures!"

"Hey, it wasn't that bad, we had Ragna with us."

"So you made it here," Sully said, while wiping her sweaty brow with a cloth. "I was wondering how long you'd be held up."

"So this is the guy you told Teach about!" the blonde haired man Sully had been dueling said. "Name's Vaike, but everyone calls me Teach!"

"I don't."

"No way in hell!"

"How barbaric!"

"Just met you."

"Aw, come on! Give me a little slack," Vaike said looking depressed, but not for too long. "Anyways, glad to meetcha Ragna!"

"Ditto," Ragna said with a small grin. "Is there anyone else here?"

"Yeah, a few people. Stahl, Sumia, Miriel, and..." Vaike looked around and scratched his head in confusion. "That's odd, I'm pretty sure Kellam was around here somewhere."

"You mean that giant suit of armor behind you?" Ragna asked a little concerned.

"Huh? WOAH! WHAT THE HELL!" Vaike said as he finally noticed. "Kellam where; how?"

"Uhh... Hi?" Kellam said unsurely.

"He's been standing there since you came over..." Ragna was now concerned. Vaike would have been one thing, but he noticed the same look of surprise in everyone else's eyes, _They're not trying to be mean... are they really just that dense?_

"Ragna... you can see me?" Kellam asked.

"You're almost as tall as I am, wearing a giant suit of armor, and you don't exactly take light steps; how the hell could I NOT know that you're there?"

"Well you're the first person to see him without having to try!" Lissa exclaimed. "The rest of us try to keep our eyes on him, but it's just not possible!"

Ragna shook his head. "I don't understand you people."

"Heh, blunt, but honest at least." Ragna turned to the source of the voice and saw a man with brown hair in a cowlick. He was walking towards them with a woman with crimson hair and a pointy hat carrying a red tome and another women with a winged clip in her hair while she was wearing some form of armor. "I'm Stahl; another knight of the Shepard's, this is our mage Miriel, and this is Sumia."

"A satisfying first chance of meeting you Ragna." Mirel said.

"Hi there Ragna," Sumia said.

"Nice to meet all of you," Ragna said in return. ' _In terms of cryptic speakers, Miriel doesn't even break my top five.'_

"So Chrom's in a meeting right now?" Sumia asked.

"Yeah, about a threat we encountered on the way here," Ragna answered.

"He should be back soon Sumia," Lissa assured her. "Just as soon as the meetings over."

"Luckily it was a short meeting," they all heard Chrom say from behind and their commander walked in with Fredrick close behind. "The council has decided that we're going to be needing more help if we're going to combating the threat of bandits and of our new opponents, 'The Risen.' Since we have too few troops to spread in a large radius we're heading north to Regna Ferox tomorrow to plea our case their Kahn ruler. This is a simple peacekeeping mission, no need to come if you don't want to."

In the end Vaike, Sumia, Sully, Virion (who just showed up randomly), Kellam, Stahl, and Miriel decided to come. Add that to the original four and you had a pretty decently sized party.

"I'm afraid I need to stay behind," Maribelle said. "My father said he'd need my assistance in court about our cities trade route. Do be careful and take care of Lissa."

"Don't worry Maribelle," Chrom assured. "Lissa will be safe, I don't expect things to be too dangerous on the roads... By the way Ragna, shouldn't you be heading back to the palace?"

"Yeah, but I'm going to need someone to show me around."

"I was actually on my way to the palace, I can assist you if you wish," Maribelle offered.

"Thanks."

* * *

The two silently made their way to the palace, Ragna traveling on foot with Maribelle on her pony. Currently, it was the afternoon. Ragna was resolved to say as little to this girl as he could; her poise, her expression, and even her way of addressing others reminded him about someone he'd rather think less of.

"So tell me Ragna, what business do you have in the royal palace?"

"Someone wanted to talk with me," Ragna said unyieldingly.

Maribelle gave a small laugh. "Someone wanted to meet you IN the palace? That seems unlikely, but I'll take your word for it. Who are you meeting?"

"Emmeryn," Ragna said bluntly. The look of shock in the noble's eyes was apparent. "She said something about wanting to meet the newest addition to the Shepard's... but I have no idea's for her real reasons."

"Perhaps she is hoping to thank you for saving South Town. That's no small feat mind you."

"Maybe," Ragna said as they approached the castle. "But I don't want her to feel like she owes me anything. I was just there at the right place and the right time, simple as that."

"Most men and nobles would give an arm for an opportunity such as this, and you say you want nothing for it, not even to be commemorated for it? Ragna, who are you?"

"A Black Sheep."

Phila was standing at the castle gates wait for them with a small group of maids. "Welcome, Lady Maribelle. I see you've met one of our new topics of interest. Miranda, take Lady Maribelle to her room, Scarlet, take her horse to the stables, I'll escort Ragna myself."

The maids nodded as they left with Maribelle. Ragna meanwhile followed closely behind Phila. As they walked, she decided to inform him of one of her policies. "I don't care how strong Chrom claims that you are. The moment you draw your blade is the moment you seal your fate."

Ragna shrugged. "If it's that much of a problem, why not take it from me?"

"Because Emmeryn has decided to trust you. I'm only reminding you so that you know what to expect from our guards." The two were now standing in front of a stained mahogany door. "Your grace, I've brought Ragna with me."

The door opened revealing Emmeryn with her warm smile. "Phila, how many times have I insisted that you call me by my name and not my title?"

"Enough times, but I will continue to do what's proper. I will leave you two here" She gave Ragna one final 'I'm watching you' look before leaving. Ragna disregarded it and walked inside. He saw that there was a small fresh brew of tea, a few crumpets, and a white tome. Emmeryn shut the door, sat down at the table, and gestured for him to sit as well, which he did.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about in private?" he asked getting straight to the point.

"It's about your new position in the Shepherds... and about Chrom. Your position may seem straight forward with your knowledge of tactics; give the troops orders, have them carry them out, and fight when you need to... But that's not the type of tactician that I'm looking for."

"Then what are you looking for?"

"A man who's capable of leading others to do impossible. Someone who not only knows how to take life, but more importantly how to save it. I want you to be able to see any mission with the loss of one of your own as a failure, no matter what it accomplishes. I want you to always be the one to find the _other_ way."

"Done," Ragna said without bravado.

Emmeryn looked surprised as she started pouring tea. "I'm sorry?"

"I don't want to lose anyone either... I know the feeling of losing the people important to you all too well." Images flashed in his mind, reminding him of when he lost Celica at the church as a child and more recently when Lambda had died in his arms atop Kagutsuchi. "I swear, no one's going to die on my watch, I'd rather fight off an entire army myself."

Emmeryn nodded before handing a cup of tea to Ragna. The Reaper nodded thanks as he took the cup. The tea was good, almost better than Rachel's personal brew (he'd stolen some from the Vampire when she wasn't looking), but his mind went to the next topic at hand. "What did you want to talk about Chrom for?"

Emmeryn gave a soft sigh. "I love my brother, but he can be very headstrong at times. He believes that most problems are to be solved at the end of his blade, not through peaceful means. I know I've asked too much of you already, but I want you to be his voice of reason. Tell him when to avoid fighting and causing further conflicts."

"I'll do what I can," Ragna promised. ' _Of course if this had been_ _me from two years ago, Chrom_ _would be my voice of reason.'_ "Was there anything else you wished to speak with me about?"

Emmeryn nodded. "I have a small gift for you, it may help you on your journey." She handed Ragna the book on the table, the Reaper examined the cover. ' _This looks like a spell tome.'_

"This is a tome that I carried when I began learning magic some time ago. Inside you'll find basic and moderate spells from all three schools of elements."

Ragna nodded as he put the tome on his belt and finished his tea. "Thank you, Emmeryn."

Emmeryn smiled. "Perhaps you could convince Phila to address me the same way?"

Ragna smirked as he stood. "I doubt she'd listen if every noble in Ylisse asked her. Thank you for the tea and the tome, I should be heading out."

"Safe journey," Emmeryn wished him as he closed the door.

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Emmeryn**

* * *

The sun was beginning to set as he made his way towards the Garrison. Suddenly he felt a painful pulsing inside his arm. "GAH! What's-!" That was before he sensed them. ' _Those things from the woods; Chrom called them_ _Risen... There are about ten of them_ _about two miles out from the capital, but they seem pretty weak... How can I sense something that far away without focusing?_ _Maybe because of those shadows I absorbed?'_

 **Ability Obtained:** Risen Sense *Description: Able to now detect Risen from a far away distance. This ability also allows you to get a close approximation on their numbers and strength.

Ragna decided that the WHY wasn't important right now; what was important was finishing the risen before they caused any harm. ' _I could let Chrom know..._ _but how could I tell him? Fredrick_ _already doesn't trust me.'_ He sighed to himself before he began running towards the capitals outskirts. ' _I'll just handle this one on my own.'_

* * *

It didn't take him long to arrive, he was on a ledge with a fair amount of bushes and other vegetation on it, the Risen were a short drop below. ' _Gah!'_ he screamed to himself in pain as his eye pulsed. Even from far away he could now make out the risens numbers, what they were equipped with, even their general strength. ' _How am I getting these abilities? Does it have something to do with the shadows I get after slaying these things?'_

 **Ability Obtained:** Tacticians Eye *Description: You are now able to survey armies in more detail, able to confirm ability, class, and equipment.

 _'Whatever,'_ he thought as he jumped over the edge, drawing _Blood-Scythe_ in midair. He immediately eliminated an axe wielding risen on his way down. He grabbed his fallen prey's weapon and threw it at another rise, embedding the weapon in its chest. Two down, no problem.

Ragna spun to dodge as a lance risen lunged at him with a lance. He dodged the attack with ease, grabbed the lance with his free arm, before slashing the risen with _Blood-Scythe_ and turning it into food for his BlazBlue. He then repositioned the lance before impaling two risen through with it.

The remaining five risen rushed at him from the front, but those number meant nothing to him. "Try this one on for size! **Death Spike!"** His signature black beast head emerged from the ground and impacted the risen, destroying them with ease.

All of the shadows were quickly being absorbed into his BlazBlue. They were completely absorbed when he heard the flapping of large wings. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" a feminine voice called out.

Ragna could barely believe his eyes at first, ' _A pegasus?'_ He never thought he'd encounter something like that... ever. The mythical beast landed in front of him and its helmeted rider dismounted, carrying a lance. She observed the weapons laying on the ground.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Ragna."

"And these weapons?"

"Risen."

"I see..." the woman said. "And you were able to take them all out by yourself?"

"I had the element of surprise."

"And who are you with?"

"The Shepherds; just joined."

"Really? Then you won't mind telling me their members."

"All right; Chrom's the leader, Fredrick, Sully and Stahl are knights, Miriel is a mage, not sure what Maribelle or Sumia are, Lissa is their healer, Vaike uses an axe, and no one notices Kellam despite the armor."

The knight seemed shocked. ' _If he knows who Kellam is he has to be a Shepherd.'_ She removed her helmet, revealing long scarlet hair. "I'm Cordelia, an officer of Ylisse's Pegasus Knight. Sorry for mistrusting you."

"It's fine, I'd be speculative if I were in your shoes," Ragna assured her. "So what are we going to do with these weapons?"

"I'll take them back to headquarters, maybe we can get an idea of how their getting these weapons."

"Whatever, I need to be heading out anyways," Ragna said as he started making his way back to the Shepherd barracks.

"Hey Ragna, I heard a rumor that Chrom found a new field tactician... is it you?"

"Seems that way."

"Then promise me something. Sumia and I have been friends for years. Do whatever you need to, but I need her and Chrom to get out of this. Promise me, alright?"

Ragna scoffed. "You people just don't get it. I may have just met the Shepherd's, but there's no way in hell I'm letting any of them die. I've gone through that crap enough times already."

Cordelia sighed. "You know that's not be possible. All of the greatest tacticians of any nation always had to lose someone. It's almost like an unwritten rule."

Ragna looked at her, dead in the eye. "In that case, I'll be first one to break that rule."

Cordelia stared at the man in awe. How could someone claim that and look so serious, did Ragna know what he was saying? "Are you actually saying you can?"

"I made a promise to someone, I intend to keep it." Ragna was silent for a moment before adding, "I could use your help."

"You want me to join the Shepherds?"

"We're going to need a Pegasus Knight if we're going to be prepared for whatever comes our way. And I can tell you're skilled."

"How?"

"Your posture, the way you landed, even the way you hold your lance."

"Really?" Cordelia asked simply before thrusting her blade forward, leaving only a hair between the point and Ragna. Ragna didn't even react. "Apparently you can't see everything."

"Hmph, I could tell you weren't going to strike me."

Cordelia was about to wave it of as bravado, before she looked at his eyes. He wasn't being coy, and his breathing hadn't even skipped a note; he was telling the truth. She took the lance point away from Ragna. "Very well, I accept. I'll inform Phila and rendezvous with the rest of the Shepherd's before you leave tomorrow."

"Sounds good, glad to have you on the team. Just save the stab tests for the Risen, alright?" He added that last part with a grin.

Cordelia laughed. "If you insist. I'll see you tomorrow, Ragna."

"See ya," the Reaper said before running off.

On her way back to the capital Cordelia realized something odd. She had often swooned after Chrom's heart, and now that she had the chance to get close to him it had only just occurred to her.

 _'Odd, but I can still use my time in the Shepherd's to get him to notice me;_ _it's what I've always wanted... Isn't it?'_

 **Author's** **Note: I don't own Fire Emblem of BlazBlue.**

 **Well, now Ragna is officially a Shepherd. This chapter was still used to set the stage, but I also introduced a few characters ahead of their regular meeting time. Ragna and Cordelia haven't hit C rank yet. I'll always make an announcement whenever something like that happens.**

 ** _Thus the shipping war raged on, neither side willing to give in to the others demands._** **I don't think these pairing** **ideas** **will ever stop. I will promise this to all of you, whoever I don't have Ragna marry** **(again IF he marries), I'll be sure to include them in an S rank support conversation** **in a bonus section... but that doesn't mean I'm writing him having S-Ranks with the guys. No disrespect** **to anyone, but I'm not here to write Yaoi, so don't ask.**

 **As for the schedule for updating two stories every Friday... sorry, but my updates are going to be much more random than that. I'll update a story after I've had decent ideas for it, simple as that.**

 **Tell me what you thought about this chapter and if you prefer the chapters longer or shorter. I feel more comfortable writing shorter chapters, but I can try to adjust my writing style for you guys. Rate, Review, and see you in the next chapter.**

 **Ciao.**


	4. Battle on the Road

_Chapter IV: Battle on the Road._

The group of Shepard's made their way through the countryside of Ylisse. Ragna and Chrom took point for the group, while Cordelia patrolled things in the air from her Pegasus. Chrom kept his eyes out for danger and Ragna… read a book on tactics. He convinced himself if he was going to keep his promises to both Emmeryn and Cordelia, he'd have to study up on every aspect of tactics that he could find. After he'd gotten back to the Shepard's barracks last night he'd taken every book on tactics from the Shepard's library he could find and began to study up as strenuously as he could. The man in red allowed himself a loud yawn. ' _This is what I get for not giving myself a second of rest and staying up all damn night. I hope it's worth it.'_

 _Stay Alive_

"Tired Ragna?" Chrom asked his new tactician. "Don't tell me that you stayed up late last night."

"Never went to sleep," Ragna admitted shaking his head. "Wasn't the best of moves, but I was able to study up some on tactics, maybe something that could be useful if we run into anything on the road."

Chrom sighed. "Look I appreciate you becoming our tactician, but I don't want you working yourself to death like this. What are supposed to do if you pass out in the middle of a battle?"

"Relax Chrom, I've been able to fight for several consistent battles without a problem, what's the problem with pulling a few all-nighters?"

"Because of the impact on you?! Honestly Ragan, you're acting like death would be welcome to you!"

"If it's either death or seeing another friend die, I'll take the former. I told Emmeryn last night and I'm telling you now, I'm through with the bullshit of seeing someone die because of me!"

"I-!" Chrom looked into Ragna's steeled eyes and could swear he saw flames in them. "Look, I know how you feel, but try to take it easy. You aren't helping anyone if you're going to get yourself killed. As your captain, I have the right to tell you when to rest. I need my tactician in top condition."

"Fine, but let me do my damn job, and you can do yours."

"Deal."

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Chrom**

Ragna's BlazBlue gave a small pulse and that's when he detected a large group of risen the direction they were heading. _How am I going to tell Chrom without letting on to my powers?_ Just then, he heard the flapping of wings above him and saw that Cordelia had flown down to see the two. _Saved._

"Captain, Tactician, I've spotted a large group of risen ahead of us. They seem to be equipped with all manners of weapons, we should proceeded carefully."

"I'll let everyone else know," Chrom said before rushing to talk with the rest of the Shepard's.

Ragna heard a sigh and was surprised to hear that it had come from Cordelia. Now as you might recall. Ragna wasn't exactly the Reapers sharpest scythe when it came to noticing relationships or longing feelings… but this one was painfully obvious, even for him.

"Look if you want Chrom to notice you, why not try impaling a few Risen in the fight we have coming up. That'll get his attention."

Cordelia for one, was glad that Ragna had decided to help her even further. Even when she had talked to her sisters in the Pegasus knights, most of laughed at her for her crush on the prince. Ragna, it appeared, wasn't like that. "Thank you, any ideas?"

Ragna thought to himself for a moment, what had the book on tactics said? "For now, I want you to stay close to Chrom and finish off any enemies that he can't kill in one blow. Also, I've noticed that Chrom isn't fast enough to take care of some swordsmen, if you see one of them targeting him, I want you to take the first attack and keep him from getting injured. I already have Stahl, Fredrick and Vaike on guard for archers and mages so you should be safe."

"Alright, I'll do my best… and thanks Ragna."

"No problem, just don't make this a habit of bringing your love life to the battlefield."

"I swear this is the one time I'm asking for this… But I suppose I should think of some way to thank you."

"That's not-!"

"Please at least let me find a way to thank our tactician."

Ragna sighed. With the look Cordelia was giving him, it was pretty apparent she wasn't about to take no for an answer. "Fine, but don't go overboard, okay?"

"Alright, let's get out of this battle first."

* * *

*Battle Field*

Using the **Tacticians Eye** ability he had gotten yesterday, Ragna was able to see that there were two main groups of Risen, both of them separated by a river with a bridge crossing over it. The larger group was closer to them so they'd have to contend with the bulk of the force before moving on to the small fry. If he could finish this quickly he could focus on fighting two different forces instead of one large one.

Aside from Chrom's group taking the left flank, he put everyone else aside from him on the right flank where there were more mages and archers, as for him?

Ragna took out Blood-Scythe and charged right down the middle of the horde. In one swipe of his sword he was able to cleave through three Risen with ease. He kept himself from using his standard techniques such as Hell's Fang, but it didn't slow him down too much. He noticed a lancer behind him get impaled by Sully.

"I thought I told you to stick with the others," Ragna questioned as he impaled a Risen with just his fist.

Sully grinned as she ran through two more risen with her lance. "HELL NO! I'm not about to let you take all of the fun!"

"Yeah, fun…" Ragna smirked. " **Carnage Scissors!** " he yelled as he destroyed another large group of Risen. He noticed that the Risen's back-up group was starting to merge with their other force, but they'd already done a substantial amount of damage to their current force, a few more wouldn't be a problem.

Meanwhile with Chrom's group, Chrom had just finished slaying a Risen warrior. The prince might've already slain seven of these monsters, but compared to Ragna, he felt that it was nothing. What he didn't notice was the Risen swordsman that had made it way behind him to impale him.

Luckily for the prince, he had Cordelia to watch his back. Just a Chrom had turned to see the swordsman lunge at him, soon enough to see it coming, but too late to react, there was a giant gust of wind as the Risen lay at his feet, a hole in its chest where it had been impaled. Chrom was unable to notice immediately who had done (Cordelia had gone a few feet away to hold back another group of Risen) ho he decided to shout his thanks.

"Thanks for the save Kellam!" he shouted before attacking a horse mounted risen.

…If any of you readers heard a shattering sound; that would be Cordelia's heart.

' _Kellam!?'_ she thought, more than a little peeved. _He's not even in our GROUP!"_ Thankfully, she decided to take her anger out on the Risen… poor suckers didn't stand a chance.

After that the battle was over very quickly, in no small part to Ragna and Sully. Chrom approached the Reaper as he was resetting his sword.

"That went better than I was hoping for, good work. But did you really have to take the majority of the entire force like that?"

"Hey it worked didn't it?" the Reaper answered.

"True, but we're here to fight with you Ragna, not just assist you. Taking an entire force isn't efficient, it's just reckless."

"Unless I can handle it, which I can…" Noticing the prince's look of disproval Ragna decided to follow up. "Look Chrom, I can handle them on my own for right now, just let me read up on tactics a little more alright?" The prince reluctantly nodded, but it was enough for Ragna. "Good, I- hmm?"

A short ways away there was a Pegasus with an injured leg. "Any ideas?" Chrom asked.

"Maybe I can help," Sumia offered as she approached the winged horse. Surprisingly, the horse at least seemed trained as it calmly regard Sumia while she bandaged the leg. "Looks like she won't be able to run on it for a while, but she should be able to march with us."

"Works for me," Ragna agreed. "Maybe you could ride her into combat when the leg heals."

Sumia smiled. "Sounds good, but it might take a while to heal."

After walking for a few more hours, the group decided to break before it got dark. Luckily, they happened across one of Ylisse abandoned forts that was still stocked with rations and in good condition.

* * *

*Ragna's Room*

 _Noticed_

After reading his tactician's book in his bed, Ragna became restless and decided to check out the training grounds. As he went through the hallway, he heard a familiar sigh. He saw Cordelia leaning against the wall and looking out on of the forts windows, her arms were crossed and she seemed deep in thought.

"What's wrong?" Ragna asked.

Cordelia shook her head. "My kill count was about 20, but Chrom didn't even notice. I was RIGHT THERE when I saved his life, and he thought it was Kellam… who wasn't even in our party."

' _Crap, what do I say?'_ Ragna thought to himself franticly. He'd never really been in a conversation like this before… but he compared it to stepping around a landmine field (which he'd done once before, hadn't been fun). "Why do you even like Chrom?" he decided to start with.

Cordelia looked at him like he was crazy for a moment before answering. "Well, because he helped encourage me when I was little."

"How?"

"He gave me advice and said some encouraging words. Really I owe it to him that I've done so well."

"Okay, how many times did he give advice?"

"Only once. Ragna, does this really matter?"

"Hell yeah it does! …Look Cordelia, I know you have a thing for him, but it looks like it's coming close to destroying you. Tell me this, what do you truly see in a man that, while a great friend and leader, doesn't notice or even talk to you? Do you really think Chrom would want you to spend your life trying to get his attention when it doesn't look like he feels the same way about you?"

Cordelia was about to respond readily, before Ragna's words seeped in. Was that really what was happening? Was she really chasing after Chrom, when in her heart she knew he'd never look at her like she wanted him to? Did she even really LOVE him?

 _Shit, I went way too far,_ Ragna thought to himself. "Look, I'll let you think on it. You don't have to come to a decision today." He started to make his way down hallway once more. "Oh, and Cordelia?"

"Yes?" She asked.

"Good job today, you really showed those Risen who was boss with those long-ranged dives and your javelin throwing. I'm glad that you're a part of the team." With that, the Reaper left.

 _'HE noticed?'_ Cordelia thought to herself, _'But he wasn't even close to me… How could he notice me in the middle of what he was going through?'_

Despite her confusion, she felt a small ray of happiness leak through to her heart. She smiled as she recognized it. Cordelia had this feeling only once before, when she was noticed by a certain blue haired prince.

 **Support Rank C Achieved with Cordelia**

* * *

*Training grounds*

 _Fighting Nobility_

Ragna had a pretty good idea of who he would find at the training grounds, his idea was spot on. Sully was there, practicing her unmounted sword work against a couple of training dummies. She was hacking through them at a frightening pace, but she seemed unsatisfied.

"What are you trying to do? Make coleslaw out of them?" Ragna commented from behind.

Sully turned to regard the Reaper. "The hell is a clothes saw?"

Ragna fought back laughter. "Never mind, but seriously what are you doing out here?"

"Trying to improve," Sully said as it was obvious. "I've got a crap ton of work cut out for me if I ever want to be at your level."

"Look Sully, it's not a competition. We're on the same team right?"

"Who said anything about this being a competition? I just want to get stronger."

"Reason being?" Ragna asked as he crossed his arms.

"Looks I come from one of Ylisse's noble families." Okay, Ragna hadn't been expecting that one. SULLY a noble?! "Wipe that damn look off your face. I know I don't exactly fit the image of a noble, but at least this way I get some freedom dammit!"

"What do you mean freedom?" Ragna asked, figuring this was a good chance to learn about Ylisse's politics.

"What I mean is marriage! The Exalt decreed that any noble that becomes Knighted cannot be influenced by her family in any way for who to marry. I figure if I can get Knighted, I'll can at least wait until a decent guy comes around, or to stay single if I never find one."

"Huh," Ragna said to himself. In a way, this reminded him of his 'ally' Tsubaki Yayoi. He knew the chick had a thing for his younger brother, Jin Kisaragi, for a while, but due to the Yayoi blood status she and Jin couldn't be together without casting aside all ties to her family… but that hadn't stopped her from getting pregnant with their lovechild a week before the final battle.

When her family found out, they were furious and disowned her immediately. Jin had proposed to her almost immediately after that, but Ragna was worried how they would manage, just the three of them… maybe it would be better for them if he wasn't around. No kid needed a 'Grim Reaper' for an Uncle.

' _The curse of nobility,'_ Ragna thought grimly. He walked over to the weapons rack a grabbed two training swords and tossed one to Sully. "Catch."

Dropping her other blade, Sully caught the hickory sword in mid-air. "The hell's this?"

"Sparring," Ragna said simply while taking a few swing to adjust to its weight, or lack of before taking his jacket off and throwing it on the rack. "Being a knight is probably more than just battle prowess, but I can at least help get you some more skill." He gave Sully a somewhat cocky grin. "You sure ready for this?"

"Just don't whine when I beat yer arse!" Sully yelled before charging him. The two grinned as their weapon clashed against each other.

*Later*

"Huff… Huff… Huff… Damn… I've really… got a ways… to go…" Sully barely managed to say. Her sword was already cracked in several places, her armor had a few dents in it, and she had a few welts.

"Sorry, about that," Ragna said, referring to Sully's new marks. He wasn't quite as out of breath as Sully was, but the crimson knight had pushed him more than he'd have originally thought. _Guess I went too hard on her._

"What're you sorry for?! Been waiting for someone who could keep up with me! And you don't pull your punches on me 'cause I'm a woman… I like that."

Ragna gave a small smirk. "There's one truth in fights that I've had to learn the hard way."

"What's that?" Sully asked.

Ragna smirked as he put his jacket on. "War knows no sex."

"Oh?" Sully said with a teasing smile. "So mister Ragna's broken a few chastity belts has he?"

Ragna face turned crimson in a split second. "Th-That's not what I meant at all! And here I am trying to give you some help! Do I look like some sort of- HEY!"

He'd stopped his rant long enough to notice that Sully had literally doubled over in laughter. "Oh man, Ragna! You should have seen your face!"

 _'Damn it she's making fun of me!'_ Ragna thought to himself. "You've got a dirty mind Sully. A dirty mind."

"Yeah, but thanks. I guess I needed a good laugh… and seriously thanks for the sparring."

"No problem, any time you want to go a few rounds just let me know."

"Heh, sure thing."

 **Support Rank C Achieved with Sully**

* * *

 _Half a Gift_

It was starting to get late now, but Ragna had done too much sparring to sleep and his stomach was driving him crazy.

*Groan* ' _Shut up stomach.'_ *Groan.* ' _You just had dinner two hours ago!'_ *Groan* ' _WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WASN'T FILLING?'_ *Groan* ' _Dammit, fine! I'll stop by the kitchen.'_ *Content Groan* ' _God, even my own stomach is against me.'_

Ragna made his way to the kitchen, but was surprised to see that there was a light coming from inside the door. _'Who in the seven hell's would be up cooking this late at night?'_ He heard a girlish scream come from inside and heard a loud crash. _That voice-!_

"Lissa!" he yelled opening the door. What greeted him he couldn't help but laughing at. Inside the kitchen was the kingdom's princess, in the middle of several broken jars, covered head to toe in flour.

"R-Ragna!" Lissa said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Ragna responded before he looked on the table on it was a recipe for a certain apple filled pastry. "Seems kind of late to make a midnight snack, and a PIE? Really Lissa?"

"H-Hey, I wasn't going to eat it! I was… going to give it to someone."

"Really? Huh, well let me give you a hand."

"NO! I mean, don't trouble yourself Ragna. I can manage it myself alright?"

"Yeah well, I'm not taking that for an answer. I'm helping out, like it or not."

"But… ugh, fine."

"All right, so the first ingredient is…"

*Later*

"Well the pie looks decent," Ragna said as their project cooled.

"More than decent!" Lissa said with a smile on her face. She'd been able to dust most of the flour off, but she still seemed a little 'powdered.'

"So who's it for? You said you were making it for someone, though I can't imagine Chrom would be happy if you were giving pies to some punk."

"You're- I mean HE'S not a punk!" Lissa had tried to correct her error, but it was too late.

"Wait, this things for me?" Ragna asked surprised.

"Well yeah. You're doing a lot for all of us, not to mention you helped me see how important my job was back in the forest and you saved my life. So this is thanks from me… Or at least it was going to be, but then you had to help make it yourself so it's only half a gift if that."

"Huh, well thanks." Ragna said as Lissa made her way away, somewhat deflated. "Hey Lissa, this means that the other half is my gift then, right?"

Lissa stopped and turned to the Reaper. "I guess?" she said, not seeing what he was implying.

"In that case, I'm giving my gift to you." He noticed Lissa surprised reaction. "What? I'm not gonna be able to eat this by myself, and a pie always tastes better when it's shared."

"Well if you insist," Lissa said smiling. "Thanks, Ragna."

 **Support Rank C Achieved with Lissa**

* * *

Ragna made his way back to his room after enjoying the pie with Lissa and picked his book of tactics up again. He'd had his break, time to get back to studying.

 _Chrom said that he didn't want me to pull any more all-nighters… but there's no way I'm going to risk losing this._

 _NO WAY IN HELL._

 **Author's Note: I don't own Fire Emblem or BlazBlue**

 **But as soon as I win the shipping war, the two shall join the Storm Empire!**

 **Sorry, it's late and my mind's wacked out right now. Anyways, quite the chapter if I do say so myself. I'm not used to writing large scale battles, so I decided to keep things simple. So now we have 5 C rank conversations. At the end of every chapter I'll put up a small extra portraying everyone one's status. There won't be one this chapter, but it's still early in the story.**

 **Rate, Review, and I'll see you next chapter.**

 **Ciao.**


	5. Kingdom of Warriors

_Chapter V: A Kingdom of Warriors_

Ragna laid his head on his desk, his breathing even as he got the first decent amount of sleep since arriving in Ylisse. He'd attempted another all-nighter, but 'resting his eyes for a few minutes' a couple of hours into studying had turned into the Reaper going out cold.

 _Intimidation and Resolve_

"Ragna!" came a shout from outside the door followed by several loud knocks. "Hey Ragna! Come on, open up! Chrom wants to make sure everyone up, we'll be marching in an hour!" The Reaper didn't respond from his slumber. "Ragna?"

Slowly, but unsurely, Stahl opened the door to find the Reaper fast asleep with his head planted sideways on a book. "Great," he said to himself. "Okay Stahl you just have to wake one guy up… a guy who's capable of taking on an army by himself..." Stahl took an unsure step forward. "Just come up with something that won't make him angry, who know? Maybe he's a morning person."

It was then that Ragna started mumbling in his sleep. "Mmmmm… Carnage… Scissors…"

"Oh jeeze he's even dreaming of fighting, here goes nothing… nothing but my life," Stahl said as he mildly shook the Reaper's shoulder. "Ragna, c'mon get up… Please?"

"Gah…" Ragna said as he rose his head from the book and shook his head. "God my neck's so cramped. Hey Stahl, what's up?"

"You are finally, just wanted to let you know that Chrom said we're heading out in an hour."

"Great, still gives me some time to grab breakfast and…" He smelt himself before cringing in disgust. "Get a damn bath. By the way Stahl, why the hell do you look so nervous?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I just wasn't sure how you'd react to be woken. I half expected you to tear my arm off and beat me to death with it."

Ragna sighed. "Look Stahl, is that really something you'd think I'd do?"

"Not really, it's just I've seen what some people are like in the morning after getting woken up in a bad mood. Pair that with your combat skills and you're the last person I wanted to wake up."

"Well sorry for stressing you out. Though I don't really get how you could be so timid. You seemed to be holding your own pretty well yesterday."

"Well to you maybe," Stahl said, giving a nervous laugh. "But whenever I get into a fight I get close to wetting myself. I honestly don't know how I've managed to live this long when I'm about to faint every time an opponent comes at me."

"Well, what keeps you from passing out?" Ragna asked.

"Huh, well if I had to pick something out it would probably be the fact that everyone's counting on me. I don't think I could live with myself if I left the Shepard's down, they're my friends."

"Then focus on that," Ragna said while getting up. "You're lucky you get your strength off of something like that."

"Thanks Ragna," Stahl said. "So what do you get your strength off of?"

Ragna hesitated for a moment. "I'll tell you another time, right now I need to get ready."

"All right, let's get through whatever today throws at as," Stahl said, now more confident.

Ragna grinned. "That's the spirit."

 **Support Rank C obtained with Stahl**

* * *

*Time Skip*

 _An Unwanted Favor_

After Ragna had freshened up with a bath, he headed to grab some breakfast and noticed the Sully, Lissa, and Cordelia were already there eating. As he passed by them, they all gave him a friendly wave and smile, their cheeks tinged with the slightest of reds. The Reaper simply nodded a return to them.

"My, my, how the cold winds blow of the shoulder in the man in red." Ragna groaned, he knew who was talking to him. "Such disregard, I was only hoping that we could talk for a moment."

"Yeah, well I've got to eat fast. Need to get a couple things taken care before I rally the troops and all that."

"Yes, I imagine the new job of tactician leaves you quite busy," Virion acknowledged. "Though I have to say, you're taking quite the dedicated approach… even if reckless."

"Uh, thanks?" Ragna said unsurely while he proceeded to grab himself some food.

"Yes, but I fear you don't quite know how to enjoy the simpler sides of life. What joy have you allowed yourself since you've entered Ylisse I wonder?"

"C'mon, I got some sleep last night!"

Virion let out a dignified chuckle. "What a sense of humor you have Ragna!" He continued to laugh before seeing Ragna's confused expression. "…Oh my, you're serious."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ragna asked.

"Well this simply cannot do! As you're close friend, Virion shall tell and show you about the greater and simpler things to enjoy in Ylisse, nay the world!"

 _'So he's offering to... oh… shit. And HELL NO!'_ "Thanks for the offer Virion, but I have better things to do than waste my time with some senseless philandering."

"Philandering!?" Virion retorted completely shocked. "Those words strike harsher than the sharpest of swords my friend! But you are sure you won't reconsider?"

"Why would I?" Ragna retorted as he sat down and started eating.

"Well, I could always talk to Chrom," Virion suggested grinning. "I'm not sure how well our commander would react to his darling sister giving pies to… some punk." Ragna glared at Virion, he'd been listening in. "Besides, he has told you to relax on more than one occasion hasn't he?"

Ragna narrowed his eyes at the archer and what he was suggesting, while he continued to eat. Chrom could regard the first bit of the conversation as Virion just spreading rumors, but it Chrom could very likely believe Virion was right in saying Ragna needed break. "…Fine," Ragna finally admitted. "As soon as things start to calm down, I'll let you know."

"As you wish," Virion said with a grin showing that he'd won this day. "And I shall be waiting for you to decide when you require help enjoying-"

"Just one request," Ragna said.

"And that would be?" Virion asked, somewhat annoyed that his friend had interrupted him.

"No Brothels."

"What!? Now see here-!"

And with that one snide remark, Ragna had to endure Virion's talks of righteousness and how he would never enter such a place, even if his life depended on it. The[KK1] [KK2] [KK3] [KK4] [KK5] [KK6] [KK7] Reaper lost count of how many times he called 'bull' in his mind.

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Virion**

* * *

*Time Skip- _Ferox Border_ *

 _Problem_

"Why does Regna Ferox have to be so dang FREEZING!?" Lissa yelled at the top of her lungs as she endured the screaming wind and ridged snow.

Ragna chuckled to himself, Lissa's antics would never cease to amaze him. "The less time we spend complaining, the sooner we can reach a shelter. Just keep that in mind."

"Rude as he may be, Ragna does have a point," Fredrick said, his eyes narrowed at the Reaper.

Ragna returned the great knight's glare with his own before allowing himself a small smile and turning the other cheek. "Well at least I can admit to having a problem," he retorted to Fredrick. "Maybe you could learn something from Lissa, Freddy."

"I would ask that you don't address me with that ridiculous name," Fredrick asked, holding his glare at Ragna. "I don't see why you continue to goad me."

"You tell me your reasons, I'll tell you mine." Ragna turned and regarded his companion with a sly grin. "Deal?"

"If you want reasons I can tell you very bluntly," Fredrick said. "The simple truth is I don't trust you; you may have proven yourself to Chrom time and again, but my station mandates that I be absolutely sure. That, and your way of addressing others leaves something to be desired."

"Huh?" Ragna said with scratching the back of his neck. "I guess I can understand that. For you it's all part of the job."

"What about you," Fredrick asked. "I've given you my answer in complete honesty, tell me yours."

"Simple, you're too uptight. Ever since I've met you I've only seen you smile once and that was when you, to quote Chrom, 'brought down the axe.' And people thought I was sadistic."

"But my-!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's your job to be serious. Look, part of what makes everyone here so great is that we don't just let ourselves become a group of mindless soldiers. We each bring our own special part to the team, whether it's our combat skills or our personality."

Fredrick gave Ragna a questioning look. "You say this yet you've only been the tactician for a day."

"Because it's that obvious to see, just give it a chance."

Fredrick sighed. "Very well, I will give it some consideration."

Ragna gave Fredrick a playful slap on the shoulder. "Lighten up, it could be fun."

"Somehow, I doubt it."

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Fredrick**

"We're coming up to the Longfort," Ragna said staring off into the distance. "Chrom, you got your speech ready?"

"I'm ready to undergo a peaceful talk if that's what you're asking," Chrom said. "Though I hope I don't have to be flamboyant."

"Don't try to be," Fredrick assured him. "Ferox values strength, not words."

"Let's hope we don't have to show much of either," Chrom said as the fort came into more visible view.

"We'll find out soon," Ragna assured. "Showtime."

"Who goes there?" a feminine and powerful voice bellowed out.

"Hold milady!" Chrom commanded. "We are representatives of Ylisse!"

"Oh truly? Then perhaps you wouldn't mind explaining why you and your friends are armed."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Not only is our country ransacked by Plegian hired bandits, but we have also received a more arcane threat which we call the Risen we are here to-!"

"Enough, I have heard plenty excuses!" With that a barrage of javelins was sent at Chrom with the killing intent, but he was saved at the last second by Sumia.

As pissed at Ragna was at this chick's attitude, he knew enough that going berserk here wasn't going to solve anything that easily. _'Warrior nation… warrior nation… Come on think! ...I got it!'_ "Hey Lady! Are you too scared to come out of that fortress!? Seems pretty cowardly for a Feroxi soldier!"

"How dare you!" she bellowed back. "Do you truly intend to dishonor your company even further by spouting insults!?"

"Actually I was hoping to settle this the old way. Your greatest warrior against ours! You win, we surrender unconditionally! If we win though, you have to hear us out! There's no need for anyone risk their armies here!"

"What are you doing?" Fredrick asked Ragna skeptically.

"Trying to give them a game they'll want to play at," Ragna responded.

The silence that followed was short. "Very well, I accept your challenge and your terms!" The gates to the fortress opened revealing a woman with blonde hair wearing a suit of heavy armor. "As commander, I will represent my battalion in this challenge."

"Good to know," Ragna responded before looking to the sky. "Hey Chrom! You're up!"

Sumia's pegasus landed beside him and Fredrick and Ylisse's crowned prince dismounted. "I will represent my kingdom!" he shouted as he took out Falchion and proceeded to advance Flavia.

And thus the fight bega-

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out!" Ragna said stepping between the two combatants. "Just a second, just need to talk some sense into this guy." He grabbed Chrom's shoulder and proceeded to drag him away from the ring, leaving some very surprised observers. "Chrom, what the HELL are you doing?"

"I was about to fight-!"

"Not with Falchion you moron; use the Rapier you've been carrying!"

Chrom looked at Ragna aghast. "But that goes against the honoring Ylisse's legac-!"

"Chrom, do you want to get the troops we need back to Ylisse or not?"

"Falchion is said to be indestructible," Chrom reminded Ragna.

"A rapier can pierce through her armor," Ragna argued back. "Look, you hired me to be a strategist, now let me do my job!"

"Fine!" Chrom yelled at him, before he walked back toward the commander, this time with his rapier drawn. "Yeesh, and he always thinks he's right. Just wait until my rapier breaks in half after one stab."

Long story short, Chrom wins in one stab. His rapier managed to impale the knight easily, though it did not mortally wound her, it did take her weapon arm out of commission for the time being. The blue haired prince looked at his tactician in awe. "How the hell did you know that!?"

"I read up on some of Ylisse's weaponry and that sword of yours is a pretty special one. Its design is different from your usual rapier and this allows to pierce armor more naturally. Guess you owe me for staying up all night reading."

"Guess so," Chrom admitted. "Let's talk to the leader, Lissa's healing her now."

"Prince Chrom, I am Raimi" the woman acknowledged. "I am sorry for doubting you, but bandits have been trying to sneak through the border time and time again. We had to be sure."

"No hard feelings," Chrom said. "Though I apologize my tactician's mouth."

"Hey! We're all alive now because of my mouth!" Ragna attested. "So, can we meet with the Kahn now?"

"Yes, please follow me."

"Sounds good," Ragna said as they made their way off. "Oh and Chrom, be sure to thank Sumia. She saved your hide back there."

"I already have," Chrom assured him.

Ragna narrowed his eyes. _He realizes to thank Sumia, but doesn't even look at Cordelia. 'I really hope she gets over him soon. She'll have her heart broken otherwise.'_

 **Author's Note: I don't own Fire Emblem or BlazBlue.**

 **Another tie in chapter… whoop de frickin' doo. The support conversation were nice in my eyes, but you all know what happens from the game. I'll try to readjust a few of the later chapters so that you're not just reading a recap with Ragna.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Ciao.**

 **(Something tells me I won't be getting any couple idea's for this chapter.)**


	6. The Tournament

_Chapter VI: The Tournament_

Chrom, Fredrick, Lissa, and Robin were waiting in the Regna Ferox throne room. Raimi had told them that she would summon the Kahn and left the group there. Ragna had his arms crossed and was learning against the wall, his eyes were closed as he was minding his own business. He heard a small amount of snickering from Chrom, but chose to ignore it.

 _'Man, what's taking them so long to get the Kahn?'_ he thought to himself. _'It shouldn't take them this long to get one person.'_ He heard Chrom's snickering again. _'What's his problem? Freddy actually crack a joke for once? I wouldn't believe it.'_ He opened his eyes to glare at the young prince, but he noticed that Chrom was looking right at him and trying not to laugh… or at least looking right next to him.

Ragna turned his attention to where Chrom was staring at. It was Lissa, leaning against the wall right next to him with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, completely mimicking him. _'Really?'_ he thought with a grin. _'Doesn't she have anything better to do?'_

"Hmph, having fun are we?" a new voice sounded. The group turned to the source and found a tanned skinned woman with blonde hair in battle gear. She regarded the group with a small smirk on her face. "I'm Kahn Flavia. Raimi had told me that your group was going to be… different, at least now I can tell what she was saying."

Ragna shrugged. "Yeah, well being stuck up and boring all the time is overrated."

"Ragna!" Chrom vented at his friend. Most nobles prided themselves for being addressed with the proper manners and never being insulted. What Ragna was doing was-

Flavia interrupted his thoughts with a chuckle. "That's what I like to hear! Finally someone who'll tell it like it is!"

"Glad someone agrees," Ragna scoffed. Chrom meanwhile, was completely surprised. Is this how Ferox conducted its treaties and politics? "Anyways, we should probably get down to business."

"Yes, Raimi told me why you're here. Addition troops and support was it? Well, I'm here to tell you that we have a common enemy in Plegia. They've been attacking our borders with bandits and claiming that Ylisse was the cause behind these attacks, I've found otherwise."

"Bastards," Ragna said annoyed. He noticed the glare that Chrom and Fredrick was giving him. "What? You got a better word for them?"

"How about assholes?" Flavia suggested. Chrom and Fredrick both gave a startled cough in surprise. "As much as I understand the situation I'm afraid that as of right now, I'm unable to give Ylisse the support they need."

"What?" Chrom asked devastated. "But you're the Kahn, if anyone had the power or the-"

"I am the East Kahn," Flavia told him. "Currently the West Kahn holds the throne. Every two years we hold a tournament with a champion of our choosing to determine who the next one to hold the power will be." She then gave a smug grin. "However, the next tournament is in two days and I'm in need of a champion."

Chrom thought to himself for a moment. "Very well then, I'll represent the East Kahn and the Shepherds myself. I'll get us the troops we need."

Flavia nodded in agreement. "Wonderful! And please, feel free to us the fortress as you see fit to prepare for the tournament."

"Great," Ragna said. "Chrom we need to get you ready for the tournament, so get ready for the most brutal sparring of your life."

Chrom scoffed. "Please, I've dealt with sparring before, what's so bad about-?"

"You'll be sparring me," Ragna said simply as he proceeded to grab the young prince by his shoulder and drag him out of the throne room.

"…Naga damn it," was all Chrom could say.

*Time Skip- Five hours later-Midnight*

"Not bad," Ragna said as he looked at the broken wooden sword in his hand. "You're better than I gave you credit for Chrom."

"Tell me you were going full force!" Chrom demanded as he lay exhausted on the ground.

"Close to, but still you've got some pretty good moves and you've even been improving by leaps and bounds, I'd hate to be that other guy right now."

"Let's hope so," Chrom said sorely. "From what I hear he's supposed to be a challenging fighter."

 _Always here to help… or there_

"Well the good news is, we're done until then. Rest up tomorrow for the tournament, you're going to need it." It was then that he heard heavy breathing and Chrom's snoring. "He's able to fall asleep in these conditions. Great, now what?"

"Something wrong Ragna?" a voice asked. The Reaper turned behind him and saw Kellam standing behind him. "Oh, I haven't seen Chrom like this for a while."

"He's done this before?" Ragna asked. Kellam gave a small nod.

"Yeah, back when he was little he would constantly train with Fredrick to get better at combat, and after every 'bout he was so worn out that he'd fall asleep. One of us would always end up having to carry him back to his room."

"Is that right?" Ragna asked with a smug chuckle. "Strange part is I could see that happening. Guess I should probably get him back to his room… problem is I don't know where it is."

"I can take him back," Kellam said as lifted Chrom off the ground. "Your room is on the other side of the barracks anyways."

"Really? Thanks Kellam, I owe you one."

As Kellam carried Chrom back to his room Ragna started heading the other way, until he heard Lissa. "Wait is that Chrom? Is he… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! CHROM'S BEEN POSSESSED! SOMEBODY GET THE PRIEST! FIND SOME HOLY WATER! DO SOMETHINGGGGGGGGGGGG!"

"What's all of the noise for!?" Vaike demanded. "HOLY SHIT! CHROM'S BEING CARRIED BY A GHOST!"

"HOW THE HELL DO WE FIGHT A GHOST!" Sully shouted.

"Huh? What?" Chrom said drowsily. "HOW IN NAGA'S NAME AM I FLOATING OFF THE GROUND!? A GHOST!?"

While Ragna slightly cringed at the mention of his weakness, he was mostly concerned at the attention he'd brought by the appearance of the 'Floating Chrom.' ' _Poor Kellam,'_ he thought to himself.

 **Support Rank C Achieved with Kellam**

*The Next Morning-Breakfast*

"And that's what happened," Ragna finished recounting his tale at breakfast. "Now everyone tell Kellam you're sorry!"

"Wait, he's here!?" Vaike demanded, he wasn't the only one looking around for Kellam.

"He's standing right next to me," Ragna deadpanned as he pointed at the silent knight.

"We're sorry Kellam," the dining hall said as a whole.

"I-It's alright, no biggie," Kellam said, somewhat embarrassed.

After that everyone started digging in to their food.

 _I wanna be the very best (like no one ever was)_

"Hey Ragna," Vaike greeted as the axe wielder walked over.

"Hey teach," Ragna greeted. "What's up?"

"Nothing, nothing, 'was wonder if I could spar with ya today."

"I guess so, but what brought this on?" Ragna asked.

"I saw ya fightin' Chrom yesterday, really gave the guy a trouncing. Was hoping you could… remind me how to do that."

"Guess I could," Ragna said as he sipped his soup. "Just try tone done the ego alright?"

"Ego, what's that?" Vaike asked scratching his head.

"Never mind, just get ready for the training of your life."

"Hah! The Vaike is ready!"

*Later- The Training Grounds*

"Hey, Vaike, where's your training axe?" Ragna asked.

"Oh! Uh… I left it on the rack… I'll grab it."

Ragna sighed to himself; this was going to be a long sparing session.

"Hey don't look so glum! Teach hasn't trounced you yet!"

"Yeah, well…" Ragna started as he took the ready position. "I don't really get 'trounced' Vaike!"

"Enter the Vaike!" the warrior yelled as he brought his wooden axe back.

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Vaike**

*The Next Day- The Tournament*

"So where's Vaike again?" Chrom asked Ragna as he finished suiting up for combat in the waiting room.

"In the infirmary," Ragna said bluntly. "He took his training a bit too seriously there."

"Great, just what we need," Chrom sighed to himself. "Anyways, thanks for helping me get ready this Ragna. You're doing a lot for all of us."

"Hey, you were willing to take me in when I really didn't have anywhere else to go, I'm the guy who owes you."

"If you say so," Chrom said shrugging. At that moment the tournament gong rang out. "Looks like it's time, see you in the winner's circle Ragna."

"Give 'em hell Chrom," Ragna said to the young lord.

*Time Skip (Look you've all seen the fight enough times to know what happens)*

"Well done," Flavia said to Chrom. "You've gotten me the throne back, and more to the point you'll have the support you were asking for."

"Truly?" Chrom asked. "Thank you Flavia."

Flavia laughed. "It's I who should be thanking you Chrom, now I finally hold power over the throne. I think a feast is in order tonight, and all of the Shepard's are invited."

As Flavia made her way to make plans, a burly man with an eyepatch made his way over with a silent swordsman. "Huh, seems like I've lost."

"Sorry, but do we know you?" Ragna asked.

"I'm the Kahn you just managed to dethrone. Name's Basilio. I've got to say boy, you've put up a better fight against my champion than we I would've thought."

"You're not upset about it are you?" Ragna asked, his eyes narrow.

"Hah, I can take a loss, but that Marth character was sure quick to leave. Real enigma too. Still surprised he beat Lon'qu as quickly as he did to take his place in the tournament."

The swordsman said nothing as he simply regarded the rest of the group, LIssa on the other hand went in for a closer look at the swordsman. As soon as the princess approached, the swordsman took a defensive step back.

"What?" Lissa asked. "Did I-?"

"Just… mind your distance…" Lon'qu said, his calm demeanor now gone. "I'm… not good around women…"

"Sort of a weakness of his," Basilio commented. "But he's a good man and a fierce warrior, I'm offering him to your cause. You'll need his skill?"

"And you're fine with this?" Chrom asked.

Lon'qu gave a silent nod. "You tell me who you want dead, I make it happen, simple as that."

"Curt isn't he?" Basilio said with a laugh. "I'll see you all at the banquet tonight. Lord knows Flavia's going to overdo it again." He left the Shepherds there and left with Lon'qu.

"Seems that we've gained a new ally," Chrom said he made his way back with Ragna, Lissa, and Fredrick. "He should prove to be a good asset."

"Yeah," Lissa agreed giggling. "We'll just have to think of some way to keep him away from the ladies… You don't think he's-?"

"None of that," Ragna hissed. "He didn't become that way by choice; something happened to make him act like that… something traumatizing."

"How can you tell?" Fredrick asked.

"I could see it in his eyes," Ragna answered. _'Because I'm the same as him.'_ "Anyways, you guys enjoy the festivities tonight."

"What? You're not coming with us?" Lissa asked.

"I've got studying to do, I really need a refresher on those old strategy books."

"Not happening," Chrom said.

"What are you-?"

"This is also part of being a good tactician; you need to be able to handle yourself in public. And don't think about coming up with an excuse, because as your captain I'm ordering you to go."

"Tch… fine," Ragna relented. "But I'm not dressing up."

Lissa gave a small giggle. "Enjoy that while you can. Maribelle wouldn't put up with that for an instant."

"Whatever."

*That Night-The Feast*

The feast was exactly as Basilio had pictured it would be. Far too many decorations and only the best, most expensive food, and the most well know group of minstrels this side of the sea. Flavia was always like that, but at least she had reason for it. Many of the Noble's from Regna Ferox were attending as well. Contrary to popular belief, these men were less of warriors and more of politicians. They had a tendency to crave power when an opportunity presented itself and would often challenge the old ways of a combat run government when they could. Basilio didn't care for them at all.

Currently the Kahn was doing his usual thing, chatting it up with one of the serving girls, telling them about the (unexaggerated) tales of his youth when he traveled the entirety of the kingdom alone. The girl seemed somewhat dubious to his tales, but he couldn't really blame her for that, they were pretty outrageous, even he could admit it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his other least favorite part about nobles; they would always try to forcefully romance his dancer Oliva. Ever since he'd rescued the girl long ago, she'd always been like a daughter to him. Currently his least favorite person in the world, Count Tristan, was in the corner talking to the dancer, and it was apparent that Oliva was very uncomfortable with it. If her nervous face and trying to get her arm out of the Nobles grip was anything to indicate.

The Kahn motioned to Lon'qu, who got the message instantly and moved in to break the two up. While Lon'qu made have had a crippling fear of woman (something he hadn't even explained to Basilio) he'd grown fine around Oliva over the years, maybe it had something to do with the fact that he saw her as more of a sister than another woman. As Lon'qu made his way over to tell the noble off, he and Basilio were surprised to see someone was beating them to it.

"Y-you have a very… interesting offer," Oliva said to the Count, unable to make eye contact. "B-but I can't possibly-"

"Please, it would only be for a night," the Count said with a sneer. "Besides, I have connections, enough to make you your own noble. Think of the possibilities, anything you want could be yours, even that theater that you've been saving your miniscule pocket change for."

"B-but I don't want to-!" Oliva tried to protest.

The Count was now losing his patience. "Now listen to me you wench! I-!"

"Hands off the lady."

The two turned and saw a man standing before them, his arms crossed and his red and green eyes glaring at the noble. Oliva was glad that this newcomer was on her side, even just being near him made her feel very small in comparison.

"Ah," Tristan said. "Ylisse's tactician, correct? I thought that you of all people would tell when to not interfere with the business of others."

"When you're making a lady uncomfortable and threatening her I make it my business," Ragna answered. "Like I said, hands to yourself."

"That's far too bold for you tactician, why don't you go and polish your prince's boots. This dancer and I have a long… 'talk' to be getting to." The count tightened his grip on Oliva's arm and the gleam in his eyes increased.

"Oh wow, I think I'll leave you to it then," Ragna said sarcastically before his arm shot out and grabbed Tristan's, forcing him to release his grip on Oliva. "I hate scum like you. Go back to whatever rock you crawled out of." He turned his attention to Oliva. "You alright?" That was before he felt a sharp sting across his face.

"You dare mock me?!" the Count demanded, holding a glove in his hand. The hall had become silent now, the music stopped, all eyes focused on the scuffle. "I suppose I'll have to put you in your place in a duel you pathetic usurper!" He looked to the Noble's. "Who will offer me their blade?"

"I shall offer!" another Noble called out as he approached Tristan with a specially crafted broadsword. The two nobles had one goal in mind, remove Ylisse's tactician, and improve their claim over them in the war.

"That idiot," Chrom commented when he saw who was challenged. "Flavia, what's going on with the offering of blades?"

"In order for someone to prove that they're in the right, a noble has offer the blade to the challenger. Then the same thing happens to the challenger," she said with a grim look on her face.

"And who will offer their blade to the challenger?" the Count called out. There was silence in the hall. "So it will be less of a dual and more of a massacre. Any strategies to get you out of this one, tactician?"

"Why aren't you offer your sword?" Chrom asked Flavia. The Kahn shook her head.

"Kahn's are the exception in that rule, we can't offer blades. It's how they keep our power in check. Such a shame too, he seemed like a good man."

"It's too early to count him out," Chrom said to her. "WAY too early."

As Flavia pondered Chrom's words, the rest of the banquet cleared the room, many of the nobles sneering as they eagerly awaited the fall of the tactician.

"I'm SO sorry," Oliva said to Ragna, on the verge of tears. "I-If it hadn't been for me-"

"I'll be fine," Ragna said without emotion as walked to his side of the room. "This way I have an excuse to kick this pervert's ass."

"But you don't even have a sword!" Oliva told him. It was true, Ragna had left Blood-Scythe in his room. "And the Count been known to be one of the best swordsman in Regna Ferox. You can't possibly-!"

"Trust me," was all Ragna said as he cricked his neck.

Count Tristan gave the tactician a smug grin as he brought his blade back before charging the weaponless man. "Die, you pathetic commoner!"

Almost too quick to see, Ragna reeled his fist back and pummeled Tristan with a jaw shattering punch to under his face. The impact was enough to send the noble in the air and have him crashing against the ceiling, 30 feet above. He stayed in the imprint that his body had created, before falling to the ground at Ragna's feet. He wasn't dead, the pathetic groan his body gave off proved that much, but he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"You were right," Ragna said darkly, looking down at the noble. "It was a massacre." He turned to the crowd. The nobles were looking at him fearfully, Flavia was staring at him with wide eyes in surprise, Chrom was shaking his head with a grin on his face, the Sheppard's were giving him a grin and a thumbs up (even Vaike who'd managed to show up), and Basilio was having the best laugh he'd had in long while.

"You sure you're the tactician boy? You act more like the damn army to me!" Basilio said with a laugh as he made his way over to Ragna. "I don't think there's any doubt here, but this duel goes to Ragna… You got a surname?"

Ragna hesitated for a moment. This had been his chance to start over, he could pick whatever name he could… Funny, he couldn't see himself going by anything else. "BloodEdge… I'm Ragna the BloodEdge." Ragna crossed his arms and stared at the nobles, challenging them to say something, they didn't.

"Intimidating! I like it!" Basilio with a laugh as he walked over the rest of the crowd. "Well then go on you lot, back to the food and entertainment!"

As the conversation and music started again, Ragna made his way back over to Chrom and Fredrick. "This is why I told you not to bring me, I can't control my temper. Especially not around these nobles."

"In this instance," Chrom said, "If you didn't do it, I would've." Even Fredrick nodded in agreeance. "I'm not faulting you for this, in fact I'm thanking you for it."

"Heh, thanks guys."

"E-Excuse me?" Ragna heard the timid voice of the girl with pink hair from earlier saw. He turned and saw her standing behind him biting her lip. "Th-Thank you for saving me, Ragna the BloodEdge."

"No problem, and just Ragna is fine," Ragna said to her as Chrom and Fredrick made their way elsewhere. "Never caught your name though."

"I-I'm Oliva," she told him nervously. "I'm a close friend of Basilio's and… a dancer."

"Huh, really," Ragna said. "Anyways you don't have to be so nervous. The only asshole who was going to hurt you is… well look at him." He motioned to where the servants were carrying the Count away, his once perfect smile now cracked in several places. "He shouldn't be giving you any more trouble."

"Can I ask you something?" Oliva asked meekly. Ragna simply nodded. "Why did you save me?"

"Simple; you needed help, I helped, easy as that."

"But you could've gotten killed, didn't that bother you?"

"I've dealt with enough times that I don't really notice it," Ragna said to her. "Someone else's death… that's something I fight to avoid."

"Oh, I uh-"

"Get a room you two!" a sudden shout came startling them both. Oliva's blush deepened and Ragna glared at who had said it: Vaike. "Oliva, was it? You really want to thank this guy, you should ask him to dance!"

"Vaike," Ragna said with menace. "Keep this up and I'll put you back in the infirmary."

"Aw, this is what I get for doing you a favor!? Oh well, see you Rags!"

 _'Not that nickname again,'_ Ragna cursed internally. He then noticed Oliva was looking at the floor.

"What's wrong?"

"R-R-Ragna, would y-y-you like to d-d-dance?" Oliva managed to get out, her face was now the same shade as Ragna's coat.

"Look," he said scratching the back of his head. "Just because Vaike said it, you don't have to ask."

"No," she said trying to have more courage. "I-I-I'm asking because I want to."

"Well that's nice, but…" Ragna sighed. "The thing is I can't dance."

"What?" Oliva asked, somewhat shocked.

"Look I've never danced before, you'd be better off with another partner."

"Well I can teach you to dance… if you don't mind messing up for the first few times…" Oliva then gave a friendly smile. "But I think you've established that you don't really care what anyone thinks of you."

Ragna returned the grin with his own. "Damn straight. All right then, I'm all yours, instructor Oliva," he said offering his arm, which Oliva hooked, her blush a much lighter shade.

Ragna was a little clumsy at first, leading to him falling his rump on a few times, but he quickly got up and laughed it off with Oliva giving a small giggle. After fifteen minutes though, he was a pro, in no small part to Oliva's tutelage. When the last song ended the two gave each other a respectful bow.

"Thanks," Ragna said to her. "You're a good teacher."

"You're welcome," Oliva said, much more confident than earlier. "I enjoyed that dance as well."

As the two went their separate ways, Lon'qu leaned against the wall, he'd been observing the two the entire time. _'Even when it was me who was equally bashful it took Oliva months before she started acting normal around me… yet this man's done it in just a few dances and a rescue.'_

He shook his head, no point in worrying about something that wasn't his concern. Oliva was free to dance with who she choose… he might still have a word with the tactician later.

Ragna sat down and sighed. Dancing had been nice, but actually felt tiring for him in this environment. _'Maybe the lack of sleep is catching up with me,'_ he thought to himself. _"Oh well, at least I don't have to do anymore-"_

He heard a sudden cough beside him and saw that Flavia was staring at him expectantly. "Well?"

"Uh," Ragna said intelligibly, currently at a loss of words. "Well what?"

"Aren't you going to offer a dance with me?" Flavia questioned.

Ragna audibly gulped. The look in her eyes was clearly telling him this was a command. "Oh, sorry, would you like dance Flavia?" he asked before standing.

"Certainly," Flavia said with a smirk on her face. She held her arm out and this time it was Ragna's turn to hook into it.

The dance went more or less the same as before, though Ragna noticed he was getting more glares from the nobles now. "So, what is a Kahn doing dancing with a lowly tactician?"

"I think you're show of force showed that you weren't just some lowly tactician Ragna," Flavia said to him. "I was hoping you'd been available for another duel tomorrow, this one with me as your opponent."

"Sorry," Ragna apologized, "I've already got a lot on my plate balancing an army now… maybe another time?"

"If you wish," Flavia said to him. "But please, let me know whenever you have a chance."

"I promise," Ragna said simply.

After finishing his dance with Flavia, he bowed to her and walked back to his seat ready to sit down. What awaited him was several woman… some of them Shepherds, others of them Nobles or a Noble's daughter. They were all giving him expecting glances, each of them waiting for a dance.

 _'…Seriously!?'_

 **Authors Note: I don't own BlazBlue or Fire Emblem.**

 **Sorry for skipping over the tournament, I didn't really have a plan on how to show it. Anyways, I tried to mix up the events a little in this chapter, what did you think?**

 **Be sure to Review and Favorite. Next chapter I'll introduce everyone's favorite shopkeeper… or second favorite for you Tellius fans.**

 **Ciao.**


	7. Threats From All Sides

_Chapter VII: Threats From All Sides_

Despite Ragna's exhaustion of dancing with almost every lady at the banquet last night, he was wide awake as he laid in his bed. The Reaper couldn't explain it, he was sore from dancing the entire night and his feet hurt from being stepped on so many times (some of the nobles or the daughters of nobility hadn't been proficient dancers at all), but for some reason, the fates that had screwed his life over more times than he could count weren't even allowing him the reprieve of a well-earned rest.

 _'God, sleep just isn't an option for me tonight,'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'Maybe I could try reading some of those books on strategy.'_ Ragna made his way over to his nightstand. _'Let's see, I've already read these, complete notes on these, and read the entirety of these but was only given repeated information.'_ Ragna sighed his as he realized he had no reading material for that night. _'This is what I get for reading all of my books in one setting. Wait…'_ He looked one the bottom of the bag and saw the white tome that Emmeryn had given him before he left on the journey. _'I haven't looked into this yet, but I probably shouldn't read about something as deadly as magic when it's this late at night… maybe I can get rid of some of this energy at the training grounds.'_

Ragna got out of bed, got his coat on, grabbed his sword, and proceeded to make his way towards the training grounds. The hallway was dark, only slightly lit by the torches that remained to light the way. Only very few people were up at this area, Ragna noticed that there were still a few nobles still in the dining hall where the ball had taken place, talking amongst themselves and gambling with cards. ' _Don't notice me don't notice me PLEASE don't notice me!'_ Ragna thought as he made a quick dash across the door opening.

"Was that Ylisse's tactician?" one of the nobles asked from inside the dining hall. "Jeth," he said to his servant. "Stop him for me, tell him I'd like a word with him."

"Yes milord," the servant said as he hastily made his way towards the hallway. By the time he got there, he noticed saw that Ragna was nowhere to be found. "Milord, he's not here. There's no sign of him."

"Very well," the Noble said. "Never mind them, come back in here and fetch me another glass of wine."

The servant nodded as he made his way back inside the ball room and went to answer his master's wishes. Once he was gone, Ragna dropped down from the ceiling and landed on his feet with ease. He wasted no time in sprinting away. ' _That was too close, but at least I didn't have to endure the babblings of another of those arrogant pricks. The only contact I can stand with them is punching them in the face.'_

After that, Ragna made his way through the hallways towards the training grounds. While he made his way down one particular hallway it seemed that he caught the attention of someone.

"Ah, Sir Ragna," a feminine voice called. "I'm quite surprised to see you so late at this hour."

Ragna groaned as he slowed himself to a stop. He recognized that voice, Eliza, one of the nobles he'd danced with earlier that night. To describe her, well she had bright blonde hair that fell past her shoulders, piercing blue eyes, and was wearing a rather extravagant dress. He could admit that she had a cute face, but she'd implied certain 'activities' for them to do with each other too many times for comfort. Ragna had been a gentlemen and had refused as politely as was possible for him, but it seemed that this woman wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"Yeah well I couldn't sleep," Ragna said bluntly, hoping to get this conversation over with as soon as he could. "I was going to the training field to work some of this energy off."

"Oh?" Eliza said giving him a rather sultry gaze. "Well perhaps I could help you with an alternate strategy to cure your insomnia. I know a few… methods that could help."

"Not interested," Ragna refused, his eyes narrow in glare.

"In that case I wish you luck with your training. Perhaps I'll be out there as well to what your performance and see if you wish to reconsider my offer. Until then, Ragna the BloodEdge."

With that, Eliza made her way to her bedroom. Ragna involuntarily shivered; dealing with woman like that was unsettling. ' _I'd rather deal with one of those perverted nobles, at least then I can hit him in the face and actually feel like I did the right thing.'_

 _A Lesson of Swords and Life_

After his encounter with Eliza, Ragna was able to make his way outside to the training grounds without encounter. The snow was falling at a steady rate, the air was crisp, and he could see his breath in the vapor. ' _Not the harshest conditions I've trained in,'_ Ragna thought, referring to his early days of training with Jubei. The Reaper then noticed that he wasn't the only on out here. _'One of the Shepherds? No I saw everyone leave to hit the hay while I was in the middle of my dancing.'_

When he got closer to the figure he recognized it as Oliva, the woman he'd saved earlier from that noble. She had a blade in her hands and was attempting to swing it with minimum success. It honestly looked to Ragna like this was her first time wielding a weapon. "Kind of late to sneak in some training, wouldn't you say?"

Oliva gave a small shrike as she turned towards Ragna, dropping the practice sword she'd been holding. "R-Ragna! What are you doing out here this late? Don't you know what time it is?"

Ragna gave a small chuckle. "I could ask you same thing Oliva. As for me, couldn't sleep so I thought I'd try to get a few cricks out of my back. I tell you, some of those nobles have no idea how to dance. I also that I'd do a little practice with my sword work while I'm here, not unlike you it seems."

"Oh, you uh saw that?" Oliva asked, her face tinged with crimson. "I'm uh, not used to using swords."

"No offense but it was kind of obvious," Ragna said as he made his way to the training field supplies and grabbed a practice sword off the rack. "Any reasons you're starting now?"

"N-no reason…" Oliva said. Ragna wasn't the best at reading people but he could tell that Oliva was hiding something.

"C'mon you can tell me. I won't tell a soul I promise."

Oliva hesitated before resolving to answer. "I'm tired of always having to be rescued. I really appreciate you helping to save me from that noble in the court room, but that wasn't the first time that it's happened. I try to stick to the shadows and to not get noticed, but they always come after me, and I end up having to be saved by Basilio and Lon'qu."

Ragna shook his head. "Oliva, it's those bastards' fault for thinking that they could take advantage of you. They were the ones in the wrong, not you, never forget that."

"It's not just that," Oliva said. "Some of those Nobles are really fierce warriors underneath everything else. There have been times where Lon'qu or Basilio were badly injured trying to defend me from them. And when I saw you having to fight one of the strongest nobles unarmed, it felt like I was responsible for sending you off to your grave." Oliva looked directly into Ragna's eyes and spoke with more confidence. "I'm tired of seeing other people being hurt because of me and always being helpless, I was hoping that I could protect myself better by learning swords work, but maybe I'm not cut out for it."

"It'd probably help if you knew the basics," Ragna told her. Oliva only gave a small, sad nod. Ragna threw his jacket off and it landed on the weapons rack. "Welcome to Swordsmanship 101, I'll be you instructor Ragna the BloodEdge. Class is now in session," he said with a smirk on his face.

"R-Ragna?" Oliva asked completely surprised.

"You know, all you had to do was ask," Ragna said as he brought his sword into a ready position. "All right, start off by attacking me. Let's start with seeing what you're doing and we'll work from there."

"Are you sure?" Oliva asked. "I thought you were sore from dancing earlier."

"Yeah, but you're a better dancer than those nobles," Ragna said, not dropping his grin. "I'll take you as a dance partner over them any day."

"Alright then," Oliva said, trying to build her self-confidence as she approached Ragna and swung her sword at him. Ragna blocked the attack with ease and Oliva stumbled from the backlash.

"First off, your attack's too rigid and you're relying on you blade hitting your opponent too much. Try swinging slightly slower, but keep it more controlled. The more control you have the easier it is to chain into your next attack or shift to your defense." Oliva did as Ragna asked her. He blocked the attack easily, but the contact was much more solid. "There now if you try swinging at full speed…" Oliva took the invitation, and heard the dull crack of the swords. "Now you're getting it. From here let's work on your grip."

"My grip?" Oliva asked, before Ragna gently grabbed her hand. "What are you-?!" she demanded, her face crimson.

"The way you hold your weapon can make or break you," Ragna explained to her as he shifted her fingers around a bit. "There we go, does that feel a bit better?" Ragna asked.

Oliva nodded as she took a few swings with the blade. Memorizing the feeling with her blade and the way her fingers were positioned. "Yeah, I guess it does feel a little easier to use."

"Great, now keep attacking me like that until it start to feel natural." Oliva took another swing at Ragna and the attack hit his sword with almost perfect contact.

They stuck with doing that for a time, until Oliva eventually got it down. After that Ragna taught her some of the basic sword moves by mirror teaching the moves to Oliva. After she started getting that down, the two practiced sparring with each other, Ragna was holding back sure, but Oliva was learning pretty quickly and getting the moves down pretty quickly. After sparring he taught Oliva some more advanced sword moves and sparred a few more rounds against her.

"You're getting the hang of this pretty quickly," Ragna said as he set his training sword back on the rack and grabbed his coat and Blood-Scythe. "Pretty soon you'll be putting the castle guards out of a job."

"I just hope that I'll be ready when those nobles try something," Oliva said. "You've really helped me with this Ragna, so thank you, but standing up to the nobles is only something I can do."

"Hey, I got faith in you, that's something," Ragna said with an earnest smile. "You'll do fine Oliva, separate yourself from doubt and no one can stop you."

"You really think so?" Oliva asked.

"I know so, trust me, you've got this."

"If you say so, I'll have faith in myself," Oliva said.

"Good, well we better turn in, I can't even tell how late it is."

"Yes, I suppose. Goodnight Ragna, and thank you."

"You're welcome," Ragna told her. "See you in the morning."

After Oliva ran off toward her room, Ragna was about to make his way back to his room, until he looked up and saw that he'd been observed from a top the upper balcony. Eliza had been watching the two for some time now. She gave a glare to Ragna, before huffing and turning to leave.

After she left Ragna allowed himself a laugh. "Oh man, now she's pissed and wants nothing to do with me… I definitely owe Oliva one."

*Time Skip- The Next Morning*

Ragna made his way into the dining hall the next morning. Despite how late he'd stayed out last night he'd managed to awaken at a decent time and feeling well rested. On the way to the hall he'd encountered Eliza, and true to his belief she wasn't paying attention to him and refused to even return his 'good morning'. Personally, the Reaper was loving every second of it.

As he stepped into the hall he noticed that Oliva was there as well about to grab her food. Unfortunately, it seemed that one of the nobles from last night hadn't gotten the message and approached her. Ragna stood at the ready in case anything happened, but minded his distance for now.

"Not hiding in the shadows?" the noble asked Oliva with a greasy voice. "Perhaps you enjoy bringing attention to yourself now? Maybe I could get you more attention, some political power as well. All you'd need to do is-" As he moved his hand to grope the young dancer, Oliva's hand shot out and stopped the noble in his tracks.

"Don't touch me," she practically hissed at the man. The look of confusion was apparent on the noble's face, before shifting into fear. Gone was the timid and meek girl that had hid behind the Kahn and his bodyguard, now replaced by… something that scared him.

The noble audibly gulped and proceeded to leave Oliva with his tail between his legs. The dancer turned her head and saw Basilio staring at her like he'd just seen a ghost and Lon'qu had an eyebrow raised in disbelief. She turned her head slightly more and saw Ragna giving her a smile and a thumbs-up. She returned the smile to him, happy to have known someone like him.

 **Support Rank C obtained with Olivia**

Ragna grabbed his own food and took a seat next to Chrom. The prince looked at him with slight disbelief for what he'd just witnessed. "Did something happened between you two?"

"Well I did save her at the banquet last night. I thought you saw that," Ragna answered coyly as he bit into his bread. Chrom shook his head in disbelief, so Ragna decided to elaborate. "I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to hit the training grounds. Oliva was there trying to pick up some swordsmanship and I helped her out."

"And that?" Chrom asked, pointing his finger to some of the nobles who had decided to keep their distance from the dancer.

"Just some words of encouragement," Ragna said with a smug grin. "I'd say it worked."

"Whatever gave you that impression?" Chrom asked sarcastically. "Anyways, Flavia wanted to talk with us after breakfast."

"How did she let you know?" Ragna asked.

"Uh, she used a messenger. Why?"

"Because of how many drinks she was having last night," Ragna said, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I'm going to hate seeing her with the hangover she got last night."

"Please, she wouldn't have done anything too excessive." Chrom then turned to a rather distracting sound. "Why is Basilio snickering?"

"Two words," Ragna said counting each one on his fingers as he said them. "We're. Screwed."

*Flavia's office*

"Told you," Ragna said as they stepped into Flavia's office. The current Kahn was slumped over her desk, laying on it as Raimi tried to awaken her, with little success. "Any ideas?" Ragna asked Raimi, the knight thought to herself for a moment before coming up with an idea.

"Kahn Flavia," she whispered into the Kahn's ear, Flavia didn't react. "Ragna the BloodEdge is here, and he currently wants to duel you."

 _'Really? That's her solution for getting her up; throwing me into the fire? At least it doesn't appear to have wor-'_

An instant later, Ragna had his sword out blocking Flavia's sudden attack at his head with her silver sword. The Kahn's hangover almost looked to be completely gone at this point as she looked at Ragna with duel-eager adrenalin.

"Good reflexes!" she said at Ragna as she brought the blade back for another attack which Ragna barely managed to dodge. "I'd hate to see you fall too quickly!"

"I'm not going to fall!" Ragna yelled, try to get himself out of this predicament. "You said you wanted to talk so Chrom and I are here to talk! Lay off the blades dammit!"

Flavia looked somewhat disappointed, but sheathed her sword and Ragna followed suit. The Reaper let out a sigh of relief, he'd gotten out of that one, barely.

"I still want that duel later," Flavia said to him, her eyes narrow and serious. Ragna turned his attention to Raimi and glared at the knight, who was doing her best not to look at him.

"Anyways," Chrom said stepping in. "Perhaps you could to us what you want to see us for?"

"Oh yes, that," Flavia said as she laid her hand on her forehead and grimaced; apparently her hangover was returning. "The first announcement is good news, I sent a courier to Ylisstol this morning so the Exalt and the rest of your nation will know about the reinforcements and support they'll be receiving."

"Good to know," Chrom agreed.

"The second part is more troublesome. Some of the nobles seem unconvinced about aiding Ylisse in the upcoming war. Most of them see Ylisse as a weaker and less important nation. While I'm the Kahn and I have final say, not addressing this now would be a poor decision as we could lose support in the long run."

"Are the nobles that influential?" Ragna decided to ask.

"All that and more I'm afraid," Flavia said darkly before allowing herself a smile. "Of course you just removed one noble from power last night, one of my largest opponents at that."

"Last night?" Ragna said as he tried to think back to the previous night. The tactician had only talked a few minutes with the nobles before helping Oliva and beating the crap out of that pervert… "Are you talking about that one noble I kicked to the curb?"

"Exactly," Raimi said. "It was quite a spectacle for everyone to watch him lose so badly to an unarmed man and you wounded him badly enough that people are going to take him much less seriously in court. In that effect you wounded him almost fatally in his political career."

"We can overcome them, but it's going to take an example of Ylisse's might," Flavia explained to them. "One of the nobles recommended having you fight in our place in an upcoming battle. I don't like sending you to do my job any more than you do, but an entire ensemble of nobles agreed that this would be a good tactic to showcase if you're even worth helping… their words, not mine."

"What's the battle going to entail?" Chrom asked.

"One of my best scouts reported back to me about signs of a large group of… Risen? I believe that's what you called them. They seem to be moving towards a large town 10 miles from here. While the town does have a sufficient amount of soldiers, many of them are inexperienced. It would be a massacre it we didn't intervene."

"So our job's to intercept them before they get to the town? This sounds too easy, what's the catch Flavia?" Ragna asked speculatively.

"The catch is you're going to be watched by most of the nobles," Flavia admitted. "They're already leaving to the supposed battle grounds to watch your defense, I don't have any say in this."

"Are you serious? They're going to take a threat that could potentially kill an entire village and use it to judge us!?" Ragna asked more than a little pissed. _'These bastards are just like the NOL, hell they're even worse!'_ "Who the hell thought of this!?"

"A noble that was at the party last night who talked with the nobles after all of the Shepherds had left. Her name is Eliza of house Chamandure, she's also one of my main opponents in politics."

"Big surprise it's her," Ragna said annoyed. "I wanted nothing to do with her and now she's trying to get back at me like this. It's pretty pathetic."

"Something I should know about?" Flavia asked. Ragna shook his head to her question. "I won't pry. Regardless we don't have much time now, we need to get to the town before it's too late."

 _'Damn it, I feel like I'm getting played by Terumi again. I'll give these nobles what's coming to them when I'm done here.'_

*Time Skip- Outside the Village*

Ragna and the rest of the Shepard's arrived with time to spare, there was no sign of the Risen yet. Ragna had everyone taking up battle ready positions in the fields in front of the city to be ready and keep the fight at a safe distance.

"Still no sign of them," Ragna said as he looked over the horizon. "We sure that these things are going to show up?"

"Either that or the nobles enjoy making us look like fools," Chrom said with disgust as he looked and saw where the nobles camp was located. They were on the top of the hill overlooking the field and the town, claiming that the area would be perfect for evaluating the shepherds. He and Ragna knew the real reason for their location; when the shit hit the fan, they didn't want to be near the combat. Even with their personal guard they were just going to tuck tail and run if things didn't go well, not giving a damn about the villagers.

Just then Ragna's **Risen Sense** ability activate indicating that the Risen were close by. What he wasn't expecting was the size of the presence he was receiving, it felt massive.

 _'This can't be right, the report we got told us that Risen were only showing up in a small group.'_ "Chrom, I'm going to head out and do reconnaissance with Sumia. Something's not right about these Risen."

"Right, be careful. I'm just as suspicious of this as you are. And… go easy on Sumia alright? She may be clumsy, but she means well."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to treat her badly just because I'm in a bad mood with this." He made his way to the side of the group and grabbed one of the signal torches to call Sumia down. The knight landed close to him with her pegasus.

 _Flying_

"Something wrong Ragna?" she asked him.

"I'm going to need you to help me out here, can you take us over that forest?" he asked, pointing into the distance.

"Sure thing," she said nodding. "Climb aboard." Ragna wasted no time climbing aboard her pegasus before it took to the skies.

While they were up in the air Ragna knew he needed to keep his mind focused on looking out for the Risen, but he just had to say it. "This is amazing! Flying, I mean!"

"You've never flown before?" Sumia asked him.

"First time," Ragna admitted as the soared over the clouds. "Got to say, I'm liking it so far, but what happens if you fall?"

"Ylisse's pegasi are trained to be able to catch their riders should the worst happen. We have to be careful, but I'm pretty good at flying in even some of the harsher weather conditions."

 _'Yet you can't even walk a full day without tripping over absolutely nothing,"_ Ragna thought as he shook his head. It was then that he heard the pegasus whine softly and shake his head. "What's his problem?"

"Apparently he smells something he doesn't like," Sumia told him.

"You can tell that?" Ragna asked befuddled.

"Yes, it's sort of a talent I have, I can read animals very well."

"No kidding," Ragna said as the Pegasus dived beneath the clouds. _'I guess everyone in the Shepherds has their own talents, Sumia's no different from anyone else.'_ He then looked over the side of the pegasus. "That ain't good."

Below Sumia and Ragna was an entire legion of Risen. Close to two hundred of those monsters all in one group. Using his **Tactician's Eye** ability, Ragna was able to notice that these Risen were different; while the others appeared to be dead corpses of different humans, these risen simply appeared to be almost shapeless blobs with razor sharp claws. The traveled much slower than normal risen, but their number could overwhelm almost any force. And for the current Shepherds…

"Sumia, get us back to base. Chrom's going to need to hear about this."

"Right," the pegasus knight said as she skillfully turned her mount mid-air and went sailing back to the town.

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Sumia**

When they landed Chrom rushed over to them. "What's it look like?"

"Two hundred," Ragna said glumly as he made his way off the pegasus. "Good news is they seem to be the beast type only dealing in close combat and they don't exactly move fast, especially not in this snow. The problem is that they look strong, they could probably hack through Kellam's amour in only a few swings. So taking on groups of them at a time is going to be a bad idea." Ragna said as Sumia moved her pegasus out of the way. "Our best bet is dividing the force right down the center, attacking from afar, and then using our melee troops to pick up any stragglers, that's the only way I can see this working."

"It sounds easy, but how the hell to you propose we break the group down the center?" Chrom challenged him. "There's no structures or formations that we can use to do that!"

"There's a way, but you'll have to trust me," Ragna told him. "I have a trick hidden up my sleeve for situations like this."

"Don't worry, I've given up arguing with you," Chrom relented. "But you still need a break."

"C'mon, I slept last night!" Ragna defended himself, with the classic excuse.

"I'm scared that I believe you actually think that counts," Chrom said scratching his head. "Also, you need to keep someone on the center with you while you execute the attack, who are you going to bring with you?"

"I dunno, you up for it?"

Chrom sighed. "If I can't even keep up with my own tactician I'm not going to be much of a leader. All right Ragna, you're on!"

*Ten Minutes Later*

The Shepherds had taken positions half a mile in front of the city. The Risen approached them slowly, groaning and moaning as they did in their tight formation. All of the Shepherds knew the plan, Ragna had told them all the plan. As the Risen came closer they started shuffling faster towards the group of defenders. Just when they were within range, Ragna unleashed his surprise attack. Normally when he unleashed this attack, he used a specified amount of Seither, but in certain instances, he learned that he could increase the size and force of the attack depending on how much energy he put into this attack, so this time he decided to just let it fly.

" ** _DEAD SPIKE!_** " he shouted. The Black Beast head the emerged from the ground was HUGE, over 20 meters tall and 10 meter wide, just pulsing with dark energy. The energy wave literally roared with power as it slammed into the Risen and exploded, wiping out close to a quarter of the entire force. This did have a major back lash however, he arm was already starting to go numb with the lack of energy, but Ragna would cure that soon.

"Come on!" he shouted. The Shepherd all gave a roaring battle cry as they rushed towards the Risen. Ragna and Chrom were constantly fighting back to back, a tempest of blades if anyone ever saw one. Within under ten minutes, TEN MINUTES, all of the risen were gone with absolutely zero casualties and any injuries were healed immediately by Lissa.

Once the battle was over, Ragna reset his sword. "If this doesn't make those nobles think twice about messing with Ylisse I don't know what will… by the way, that beast head thing I just created was the result of several mages for all intents and purposes, okay?"

"Not going to say otherwise," Chrom promised. "Anyways let's see what those nobles have to say."

"I'll pass, but you go ahead," Ragna told him. As Chrom left Ragna looked over his arm, sure enough it gave off a small pulse.

 **Ability Obtained** : _Dark Conservation Level One_ This ability allows you to use less dark energy in your attacks while retaining the power and effect of the attack.

' _Well at least I got something out of this,'_ Ragna said as he made his way back to the Shepherds camp. He saw Fredrick approaching him with a woman in a strange outfit and red hair. "Something wrong?"

"This woman wanted to join our ranks," Fredrick said with his usual stoic expression. "She claims to be a merchant and can be a great asset to us."

"Hey, I could of told him that myself," the woman said as she looked at Ragna. "So you're the head tactician, my name is Anna. Nice to meet you!"

"Same to you, I suppose," Ragna said mostly uninterested. "Anyways what were you planning to do in the Shepherds?"

"Well I'm decent with a blade, more than able to work my way around almost any lock, and I can even work with some contacts to get you decent deals to get you better inventory."

"Sounds like you have a pretty decent set up, so why join us?"

"Simple, unlike those high and mighty nobles up there, you guys are actually doing something about the threats instead of worrying about the titles you can get out of it. Not to mention I get to travel around with some of the best warriors around and I don't even have to pay for protection."

"So that's you're angle," Ragna said, allowing himself a small sigh.

"So what's your verdict?" Fredrick decided to ask.

"You're trusting me with this?" Ragna asked, somewhat surprised.

"You're our tactician so we leave the strategy to you. That includes what troops are going to join us. This is entirely your call."

Ragna hesitated for a moment. "All right you're in, but the first sign I hear about missing stock or increased prices we have, our talks are not going to be pleasant."

"Please, I have an honor as a saleswomen, but I'll do my job to the best of my abilities."

"That's all we're asking," Ragna said, "Welcome to the Shepherds Anna."

Funny, Ragna had joined the Shepherds less than a week ago, now it felt like he was part of the family.

 **Authors Note: I don't own BlazBlue or Fire Emblem.**

 **Not getting much activity on my forum, but whatever. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's a bit longer than I'm used to writing. Anyways, I'll be sure to answer any review you leave, either the next chapter or before it via PM. See you next time.**

 **Ciao!**


	8. A Past Untold

_Chapter VIII: A Past Untold_

"Tch, great idea Ragna. You finally find a group of decent people to trust you and what's the first thing you do? You summon a giant Black Beast head from the ground." The Reaper sighed to himself in the middle of his self-lecturing. He and the rest of the Shepherds were walking back to the capital of Regna Ferox with the rest of the nobles. Well the Shepherds were walking, the nobles were taking their carriages. "Well at least those noble dicks aren't talking to me anymore, but that just means they're probably taking their brown nosing to Chrom, poor bastard."

Indeed, since the battle Ragna had gotten very little attention from the nobles, of course that might be less about the move that Ragna used and more about his apparent gruff attitude and hatred towards most of them. It didn't help that every time a noble attempted to congratulate him on the fight, his words to them were usually along the lines of 'piss off.' They didn't like his attitude? Well, he wouldn't be this way if he didn't have to fight for some self-serving nobles now would he?

Truthfully, he'd always act like this around the so called 'nobility.' Recent events had just given him a good excuse to have this attitude towards them. Funny thing was this was only the third time he'd ever dealt with nobility. The second time was at the ball last night where he'd manage to knock the shit out of that perverted noble in one punch. The first time… well that was a different story.

*Flash Back- Two months ago*

"I really don't understand why you're coming with us," Jin Kisaragi said to his older brother. "What we're about to deal with has nothing to do with you."

"You realize that couldn't be further from the truth?" Ragna said to his younger brother. "This may be your show, but I'm coming with you, like it or not." Kagura sighed as he walked behind the group, at least he had an actual reason for coming along.

"Moral support is it?" Tsubaki sarcastically asked the Reaper with a steeled gaze. "Ragna, you'd be doing more harm than good coming to this. Why are you so insistent on this?"

"Someone needs to speak their mind here, it might as well be me. Though I'm surprised you're not trying to stab me in the back, Yayoi."

"Currently you're the lesser of two evils so I've decided to endure working with you for now," the red head told him as they walked up to the front door. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. An elderly gentleman in a butler's tuxedo (not Valkenhayn) opened the door, looking upon the new comers with narrow eyes. "Claud," Tsubaki said to the man, one of her butlers and oldest friends.

"Yayoi," the man said, refusing to even call the young woman by her title. "You're late everyone arrived less than an hour ago. You're not sending a respectful message starting off."

"Apologies," Jin told the man. Ragna gritted his teeth. _'Don't those damn nobles remember that we're the ones fighting the whole damn war here?'_

"You, Master Mutsuki and Tsubaki will come with me to the meeting. Ragna the BloodEdge can wait here," Claud said before addressing the man in red. Ragna's glare at the older man was menacing, the slightest amount of Seither was coming out of his right eye. This was when the butler realized what dancing with the Grim Reaper entailed. "Or perhaps he'd prefer to join us?" Claud offered nervously.

"Damn straight I'm gonna," Ragna said following his brother and Tsubaki. The young Yayoi heir sighed to herself. They'd just made it here and already things were off to a bad start.

The five walked through the mansion until they reached the room known as Tsubaki's father's study. Claud opened the door for the four. "Master, they've arrived," he said simply. Seated inside were several of the members of the Duodecim. Included in that was Jin's adopted father and both of Tsubaki's parents.

"Thank you Claud, you can leave now," Tsubaki's father, told the butler. Claud nodded as the four made their way into the room. "Tsubaki."

"Father," she said to him. The old man shook his head.

"What's the Grim Reaper doing here?" one of the nobles demanded in shook.

"I told you we had a trump card to winning this war," Kagura told them. "This is it."

"Just be sure to keep your dog on a tight leash," a woman demanded. "I don't want us to be responsible for the damage caused by his rampage."

"Feh." With that Ragna walked over to the side of the room and leaned against the wall. It looked like Tsubaki had been right, but he'd stay and let this play out, for now.

"I suppose we'll have to get down to business. Tsubaki, this talk of your impregnation with Jin Kisaragi's child, is it true?"

"Yes," Tsubaki told him. Ragna could tell she was already on the verge of tears, but was holding out to do whatever she could for her lover and child.

"Unbelievable," her mother said disgusted. "I thought we'd raised to you to have more sense than this. Haven't you remember our talks to you about our traditions?"

"Whoa, hold on a minute," Kagura voiced aloud. "This might actually be for the best. You've been unable to produce another child due to generations of inbreeding and Jin's one of the best Ars Magus users today. In a way, it sounds like he was the only choice to begin with."

Ragna might've seen Kagura as a womanizer, but he'd grown to respect the guy over the fights the two had endured and he was certainly respecting him now. Kagura was able to keep a level head in this situation and lead with sound logic instead of violence. Had Ragna been in his place, he would've gone berserk two minutes into this.

"Logic choice or not, that doesn't change the fact this child was conceived out of wedlock!" one of the other nobles shouted. "What would that say of the Duodecim's leadership role and policies? This cannot go unpunished!"

"Oh really!?" Kagura challenged. "After all of the skirt chasing I've done ever since I've taken over Ikaruga you're punishing Tsubaki!? What the hell's wrong with you dad!?"

"Your actions haven't led to the conceiving of a child now have they!?" Kagura's father yelled back at him.

"However Kagura's words do ring true," one of the elder Duodecim members seated began. "Tsubaki and Jin are perhaps destined for wedlock after all."

"I suppose that would be for the best," Tsubaki's father admitted. The Kisaragi member simply nodded, he'd seen Jin and Tsubaki since they've been friends at young kids. Jin may have been branded traitor, but this was still his son.

 _'Thank god,'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'I don't know how much more of this either of them can take.'_

"However, there is still the problem of the child. We can't have a child conceived out of wedlock in the Duodecim."

"We can arrange a small ceremony immediately," Jin assured him. "We could even host it today if you wished. No one would know."

The older member shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not an option, there would still be questions asked which would lead to controversy." _'No, he can't mean to-!'_ "I'm sorry Tsubaki, but your child has to be aborted. This is the only way."

"What…? PLEASE NO!" Tsubaki shouted, tears falling from her eyes. She'd never felt so in danger, so helpless. "DON'T KILL MY BABY!"

"Guards!" the noble ordered. Within mere seconds twenty NOL elite guards surrounded the three, their Ars Magus weapons were already drawn. Kagura and Jin were about to go for their own weapons. "I wouldn't recommend that," the noble told them. "The slightest act against the Duodecim could get you branded as traitors. Your revolution would be for nothing."

"You don't have to do this!" Jin shouted. "The people would understand they'd-!"

"They'd see us as imperfect!" the noble shouted. "We are here to lead the people by both direction and example! Get them!" The guards moved forward. "An unborn child is a small price to pay for-!"

The noble never had the chance to finish his sentence as Ragna rushed forward and lifted the man from his seat, he right hand wrapped around the noble's neck and his left hand held blood-scythe. "Anyone moves and I'll tear his damn head off!"

"What are you doing!?" the female with the leash comment from earlier demanded. "Don't you realize you're throwing away your entire revolution!?"

"Wrong," Ragna replied, his voice steady. "I'm a wanted criminal against the NOL, remember? Officially, I have no ties to the rebellion. Now consider this, how would the masses react to the Grim Reaper killing the entire Duodecim? I don't think anyone would have that hard of a time believing it, in fact I think they'd rather like to. Now, how do you want to do this?"

"Why are you defending them?" one of the nobles demanded.

"Who says I am? You people just piss me off." Ragna threw the noble back in the chair, leaving the old man gasping for air.

All of the nobles were silent for a full minute until Tsubaki's father stood. "Tsubaki, as of this moment you are no longer a child of the Yayoi house. Any ties to us have been severed and that includes the Izayoi."

"Father! I-!"

"Guards, send her away! I never want to see her face again! You've cost us everything Tsubaki! The Yayoi family will die with us, ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"

With tears in her eyes Tsubaki ran out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her. Jin didn't even hesitate before following her. "Tsubaki wait!"

Ragna walked over to Kagura, the man gave him a silent nod before Ragna turned to the nobles. "And one more thing… If anything, and I mean ANYTHING happens to that child, you can't begin to describe how fast and hard I'll bring down hell on all of you!"

With that the Reaper turned to leave, the Black Gale following close behind, slamming the door behind them. "Nice job standing up to them back there," he told his friend. "I was worried how our options were looking."

"You wouldn't have let anything happen to Tsubaki… would you?"

"Though it's the mark of a poor commander, I would've given all of the support the Duodecim is giving us, just to save that kid."

"Glad we agree," Ragna said as the two walked off.

"Though I got to say I'm jealous Ragna," Kagura said with a smirk.

"How do you figure?"

"I've been wanting to strangle the members of the Duodecim ever since I met them. You just met them and you already managed it! Talk about unfair."

Ragna gave a dark chuckle. "Your lightheartedness in all of this never ceases to amaze me."

*Four hours later*

It was Ragna's turn to take watch at the campsite. Normally Noel, Tager, or Bang would be with him, but he'd assured them that he wanted some alone time. It didn't surprise him that he heard footsteps coming towards him. "I told you I'm fine, leave me alone."

"I can't as much as I'd like to." The voice belonged to Tsubaki, Ragna turned to the young woman. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this but… thank you."

"…It was nothing," Ragna assured as he turned his back on her.

"If you want to down play this that's your choice," Tsubaki told him. "But tell me, why did you do this?"

"As much as you hate to think about it, that kid you're carrying is my niece or nephew. And as much as I despise you and my brother I don't want you to have to go through losing your own child."

"Despise… well the feeling's mutual," Tsubaki assured him.

Ragna chuckled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Tsubaki betrayed herself with a smile before sighing. "I'll have to keep my child away from you when it's born. Who knows what sort of a bad influence you'll be?"

"You won't have to find out," Ragna told her. "After this war's done, I'm going into hiding. You'll never hear from me again."

"You're sure?" Tsubaki asked.

"Definitely, this world doesn't need the Grim Reaper in it… But do me a favor would ya and look after my idiotic brother for me. Lord knows how he can manage to tie his shoes without me."

"Don't worry," Tsubaki said, looking down at her right hand where there was a diamond ring. "I'll be sure to look after him." With that the young former noble left.

"…Congrats."

*Current Day*

 _'Thank god she was alright after that,'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'Chrom and the others don't know about this other world that I come from, or my criminal background… but I'll have to tell him sooner or later. It'd be more of a problem if they found out on their own.'_

It was then that Chrom and Lissa ran up beside Ragna. "So, how was it mingling with the upper class?"

"I thought I'd never get out of there," Chrom said shaking his head. "All of them were trying to congratulate me on our victory and ask if I had plans for my station after the war."

"He had it easy!" Lissa shouted. "I had to sit silent and look dainty and endure suggestive looks from this one creep who kept staring at me!"

"You know, there's an easier way to deal with nobles," Ragna suggested.

"And that is?" Lissa asked genuinely curious.

"Hold 'em in the air by their neck for a few minutes, or if they have to thick necks just smack them in the face. That'll shut 'em up."

"Ragna," Chrom groaned as Lissa giggled. "Please don't tempt me…"

 ** _Authors Note: I don't own Fire Emblem or BlazBlue._**

 ** _I guess my forum is have problems, so I might as well shut it down. Let me know what you thought about the chapter and leave a comment about Robin joining the Shepherds._**

 ** _Ciao._**


	9. Confessions of the Past and Wild Birds

**Let's do these responses mow:**

 **Sugouxxx: Sorry, but no Gen 2 shipping in the official story.**

 **Greyjedi449t: Small chapters are sometimes the best, but here's a lengthy one for you.**

 **Black sun 123: We'll get there, we'll get there.**

 **Warrior of Six Blades: The Summarizer returns. Seriously though, thanks for the review and keeping up with the story.**

 **Guest: Well the Duodecim is a group of arrogant pricks, end of story.**

 **Thanks for reviewing everyone, there'll be a support conversation review in the Author's Note.**

* * *

Chapter IX: Confessions of the Past and Wild Birds

 _'Am I really doing this?'_ Ragna thought as he sat by himself in the meeting room he'd requested at Regna Ferox. He'd told Chrom, Fredrick, and Lissa to get the rest of the Shepherds to hold a meeting. Ragna was about to do something that would probably screw him entirely and turn all of his new friends against him, but it needed to be done.

The Shepherds started to enter the room at a steady rate, each of them Ragna a respectful nod or some of them walking over to him to say hello. "All right, I think that's everyone," Ragna said to the group many of whom were seated in chairs, but there were a few people standing. "Now I bet you're wondering why I called you here, so I'll get the point… I'm not exactly your common traveler like Chrom thought.

"I think we all figured that much," Chrom said, his tone even but not judging. "So is this the part where you give us the big reveal and tell us about your past?"

"I told you they were up to something interesting oaf!" Flavia shouted as the door burst open revealing both Kahns, Lon'qu and a blushing Olivia. "I was wondering why you requested to borrow our meeting room, then I find out that you've assembled all of the Shepherds, and you didn't even think to invite us!"

Ragna deadpanned, things were already going so well. "Well I didn't invite you, so care to explain to me what you're doing?"

"My meeting room, my right!" Flavia attested with a grin. "The oaf here is also a Kahn so that gives him reason enough to be here, lest we forget Lon'qu who's actually a Shepherd."

"Fair enough," Ragna said with a sigh. He then turned to Oliva. "What about you?"

"They dragged me along, sorry," Oliva said with a nervous smile.

"No, I'M sorry," Ragna said. "Fine, just close the doors, this isn't for anyone outside of this room."

"Enough of the suspense already boy," Basilio said as he shut the doors behind him. "What were you going to tell everyone? Are you from a different continent or something?"

"As strange as it sounds, I don't even think I'm from this world," Ragna told him. "Look, I can see everyone thinking I'm crazy, but it'll be easier if you see this." With that Ragna rolled up his right sleeve revealing his fake arm. "This isn't just some gauntlet, there's nothing underneath the leather straps. This thing is known as the BlazBlue and I've been using it as my arm. It's thanks to this thing I was able to pull off that attack earlier."

"Blaze… Blue?" Mirel asked curiously as she examined the arm. "That name has never been recorded or theorized in any texts, are you claiming this is some otherworldly arcane power?"

"I guess that's the best way to put it," Ragna agreed. "When Chrom first found me I wasn't able to use my right arm or my right eye until I killed one of the risen and absorb its shadows into my arm. Back in my world we had something called Seither which this thing used to power itself, apparently it can also work off of whatever the Risen are made out of."

"Wait," Lissa said a little nervously. "You said that there's nothing under that thing, what happened to make you lose your arm?"

"I don't like to talk about it," Ragna admitted. "But if I'm going to be working with you guys you deserve to know. I grew up in a church with my two younger siblings, Jin and Saya and the Matron that took care of us. It wasn't exactly a perfect life, but we were happy none the less. Until one day we were attacked by a man called Yuki Terumi."

Ragna hesitated for a moment, he was seeing some of the images of his past as if he were still there. He could practically taste his own blood mixed with the dirt on the ground and feel the heat of the fire. "That asshole started by killing the matron who was taking care of us setting my home on fire. I was out grabbing water at the time, but when I saw the smoke I ran back as fast as I could. The first thing I saw was the matron's bloody body, but that was before I saw my brother. Terumi was a master of deception and influence, he was able to corrupt my brother's mind and forced him to cut off my arm. Then that asshole stood over me and laughed at how pathetic I looked, he even told me to use the arm as a back scratcher."

Some of the Shepherds let out a small gasp while others looked at Ragna with horrified expressions. What Ragna had been saying was almost too cruel to fathom. How Ragna had gone through that and managed to stay sane was beyond most of them.

Ragna continued his story. "After that I saw that son of a bitch kidnapped Jin and Saya as I just laid on the ground, helpless. I must've blacked out from the blood loss because the next thing I remembered was waking up with the BlazBlue attached to where my arm used to be and meeting Jubei, who would teach me how to use it. I trained with Jubei for years in order to master using the BlazBlue, I was dead set on getting my revenge on Terumi and putting him down. After graduating from him I started my fight against a group called the Novus Orbis Librarium or the NOL for short."

"What did this group have to do with your struggle?" Fredrick asked perplexed.

"Because this was the group that Terumi was working for. They were a dominating organization in the world packing over eighty percent of the military power. They were also responsible for turning a war, the 'Ikaruga Civil War,' into a prolonged massacre, killing most of the population, even when Ikaruga had asked for peace talks for early into the fighting."

"I faced them down alone, taking out every NOL branch I came across and destroying the Cauldrons hidden at the center of them. I became a wanted man, no I became THE wanted man; Ragna the BloodEdge, also known as the Grim Reaper. I was the man who had a bounty high enough you could by a small country with it."

"And you always fought them alone?" Cordelia asked worried. "No one was there to help you?"

"In the beginning no, just me against the world, but during one of my fights I met a few people who I'd continue to work with against the NOL. I wasn't exactly close with any of them, but I could call some of them my friends… not everyone made it though, we lost a few people. Eventually I found my brother… but we didn't exactly meet on the best of terms."

"Damn, it sounds like you had a pretty shitty life," Sully commented. "But how the hell did you get here?"

"During what was going to be my final battle, I was pitted against Terumi and the Imperator, the one in charge of the NOL. But to make my life even more of a living hell, it turned out that Saya was the Imperator. I'd known this for some time before the final battle… but it didn't make it any easier when I had to kill my little sister with my own hands."

The Shepherds were silent after that. Ragna hated opening himself up like this, showing his faults, how weak he really was, but he also knew that if he didn't find someone to trust he'd go insane with what he'd done.

"After that, it was me against Terumi. He was powerful, stronger than I could ever imagine, but somehow I'd managed to overpower him. I'd thought it was over… but that bastard had one last move."

* * *

*One Week Ago- Unspecified Location*

"It's over Terumi," Ragna shouted as his ultimate enemy fell to his knees. The Cauldron beside them pulsed with energy, it was the oldest and last of its kind. Ragna may have been in better shape of the two, but he was having trouble even standing. Behind him Noel, Jin, Celica, and even Rachel were on their knees as well from their fight, the corpse of Relius Clover lay off to the side in front of the destroyed animatron Ignis. Saya had also been killed, but Ragna's final attack against his younger sister hadn't even left a corpse in its wake.

"No, it can't be over! It can't be!" Terumi shouted, his tuxedo was torn to bits and covered in his own blood. "I can't lose to a filthy dog like you!"

"Well you just did, accept it," Ragna said as he brought Blood-Scythe up and charged at Terumi to unleash the attack that would kill him for good.

"Not in a million years One Arm!" Terumi shouted as he did the unthinkable, he threw himself over the Cauldron's edge. "You may have ruined me in this plan, but you'll never put me down!" the madman yelled as he fell. "I'll just come back again, and next time I'll take all of your limbs and your head! But not before watching me torture and kill everyone you know right in front of you while you watch COMPLETELY HELPLESS YOU DAMNED MUTT!"

"Not this time," Ragna said before giving one last look to Jin, maybe their relationship wasn't healed, but they were still brothers. Then he looked to Noel, funny she'd felt like a sister to him almost as much as Saya had, he wouldn't be alive if it weren't for her. Third was Celica, the two had gotten off to a rocky start, but this was the woman who raised him and helped him find his own reasons for fighting. He finally looked to Rachel Alucard. Rachel may have insulted him and annoyed him to no end, but she'd also been responsible for being able to push him to where he was now. These four meant the world to him and it hurt him to no end what he was about to do.

" _Don't follow me_."

With those three cold and final words, Ragna threw himself over the Cauldron's edge and straightened his body to gain speed and catch up to Terumi. He poured every ounce of Seither he had left in his body into his sword and turned into its glowing scythe mode. Terumi looked on with fear as he saw Ragna's final attack. He was willing to be plunged into the boundary in order to finish him off for good.

"What are you-!?" Terumi then realized what the Reaper was doing and his expression change one of pure fear. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

 ** _"TERUMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"_** Ragna shouted as he swung Blood-Scythe twice at levels beyond what was humanly possible. The slashes cut Terumi cleanly into four separate pieces with the cuts forming 'X' across his torso, all of which began dissipating into smoke. Ragna lost his grip on his weapon as he fell into the Cauldron, he see Noel, Celica, Jin, and Rachel looking over the edge, shouting his name at the top of their lungs, as if doing so would bring him back. Ragna gave a satisfied smile as he fell deeper and deeper into the Cauldron, just barely touching the Boundary, before everything went to black.

* * *

*Current Day*

"After that I was thrown inside the Boundary, which is a place so messed up there's no telling what could happen there. The next thing I remember is waking up and seeing Chrom and Lissa." Ragna shook his head. "So that's my story, make of it what you will. I honestly don't expect any of you to believe me or trust me." He was rewarded by silence. _'I should have figured… what exactly was I trying to accomplish here?'_

"I-!" a voice suddenly sounded breaking the silence. Everyone turned and saw Oliva, trembling under the pressure. "I believe in you!" she shouted with every bit of courage and resolve she had.

"Huh?" Ragna said unintelligibly, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Ragna you helped save me from one of the nobles even when we weren't even friends yet because you cared enough to do the right thing! If that wasn't enough you even taught me how swordsmanship and how to stand up for myself! You're a good person Ragna!"

Ragna was currently at a pretty big loss for words. Out of all the people to stand up for him he'd been expecting Chrom or Lissa, but Oliva was standing up for him and trying to assure everyone (himself included) that he was a good person. He heard a chuckle beside him and saw it was coming from the LAST person he'd ever expected to hear laughing.

"What're you laughing at?!"

"Apologies," Fredrick said with a grin on his face. "I just find it somewhat ironic that you were standing up for Oliva last night at the ball, and now she's standing up for you now in front of all of us. I think it's an ironic twist of fate."

"Sh-Shut up!" Ragna yelled at the Great Knight, blushing slightly. The rest of the Shepherds let out a laugh at their tactician's expense. "Some friends you guys are."

"The best," Chrom said with a big smile on his face. "I think Oliva speaks for all of us here Ragna. I'd have been dead if it weren't for you and no one forced you to tell us your past, you did that on your own. And strange as it sounds, it would explain quite a bit about yourself. If anything I'd say we have more than enough reason to trust you even more now."

No one objected. "…Thanks guys. But at the same time I don't want this to leave this room. I trust all of you, but I'm not really comfortable with anyone else knowing about this."

"Don't worry, this won't leave this room," Lissa assured Ragna. "But I think you might want to tell Emmeryn. She deserves to know about this as much as we do."

"I guess," Ragna said. "Anyways we should probably head out for Ylisse soon. We've been away for too long and the Risen and Bandits have probably spread since we've left."

"We'll head out in a few hours," Chrom assured his friend. "Until then I think we could use a rest from that battle we had this morning. Dismissed!" With that most of the Shepherds started to file out, most giving Ragna a respectful nod or a pat on the back as they passed him. All that were left was Ragna, Chrom, Fredrick, Lissa, Oliva, Cordelia, Lon'qu, Basilio, and Flavia.

"That went surprisingly better than I expected it to," Ragna commented.

"So Ragna," Flavia began. "From what I gather you were supposedly the strongest person in your world, is that a fair assessment?"

"Not really," Ragna admitted. "I've come across plenty of people who were stronger than me, but by the end of the war I was certainly up there. As far as placement goes, I don't have any actual idea; power rankings tended to shift around a lot in my world. At the very least, I'd say I was always in the top five, give or take."

"Hmph," Flavia said with a knowing smile. "It's no wonder everyone's wanted to spar with you, they see you as the most powerful member of the Shepherds and they think you could help them improve themselves."

"As long as I'm helping," Ragna told her. "But why the hell do you want to fight me?"

"I have my reasons," Flavia assured him. "But that's something for another time. I'm still expecting a duel from, you, so come find me when you have the chance." The reigning Kahn turned and walked out of the meeting room.

"What's with her and wanting to duel me anyways?" Ragna asked. Basilio just shook his head. "Well whatever, I better get packing." Ragna started to make his way out of the meeting room, but paused when he passed by Oliva. "…Thanks."

Ragna walked down the hallways making his way towards his room. The inside of his room was slightly cluttered from all the books he'd gone through the previous night so he decided to start by putting them away. As he was almost finished he noticed the white tome that Emmeryn had given him when he first became a tactician.

 _'Huh, I almost forgot about this thing with trying to learn tactics all the damn time. I have some time to myself, maybe I could try learning some magic.'_

* * *

*Two Hours Later*

"Crap, this is harder than it looks," Ragna said to himself as stared at the diagrams and wording. "I should probably just come back to this." Ragna was about to shut the tome shut, before he remembered something. "Wait, Mirel is a mage. Maybe I could ask her for help. It couldn't hurt, right?"

 _Knowledge is Power_

"Hey Mirel, you in?" Ragna asked as he knocked on Mirel's door with the white tome in his other hand.

The door opened to reveal the red-headed mage. Ragna could see the room behind her was completely organized as if she hadn't been in there. Actually, it looked more like she'd made it even more organized after she stayed in it.

"I am present," she told him. "Did you require something of my abilities, tactician?"

"Yeah I did," Ragna said. He was used to all of the weird speech shit since he'd spent so much time with Rachel. "I was hoping you could tell me about using magic. I've been studying this book, but I haven't been able to pull anything off. Think you could help me out?"

"I can certainly attempt to," Mirel told. "However, I wish for compensation for the time dedicated towards this."

"No such thing as a free meal huh?" Ragna said with a sigh. "Alright what do want? If it's money I don't got any and you'd have talk to Chrom about a raise."

"I am not demanding monetary gains," Mirel assured him. "What I am suggesting is an exchange of information. My knowledge of magic in exchange for your understanding of what you call the Blaze Blue."

"So that's the game," Ragna said. "Alright, deal. In a way this'll work itself out easy."

"I don't comprehend what you mean by that in its entirety, but we should relocate this lesson to the training yards for a more spacious atmosphere."

"All right then, let's go," Ragna said as he followed Mirel to the training grounds with the book still in his right arm. When the two arrived the grounds were empty save for them. "Alright, I'll start off with my part of the deal. I already told you about Seither and how it powers my BlazBlue. The reason the thing wasn't working when I first arrived in this world was the lack of Seither in the air. Seither is a form of dark energy in my world which we use to power our own kind of magic called Ars Magus. Now I've been able to use the energy of the BlazBlue absorbing the energy of those Risen I've absorbed. So what does that tell us about the Risen?"

"It confirms that they are made by some form of darkness, most likely dark magic. We also know that this Seither is most likely very similar to the source of the Risen. This could suggest they are a result of your arrival in this world."

"Not sure about the whole 'I'm responsible for these things' bit, but yeah. I can use them for energy and that's good enough for me at the moment. So long as I'm careful in making sure I have enough dark energy to last me before I kill another of the Risen, I'm good."

Mirel grimaced. "That is a very… simple analysis."

"Sometimes the simpler ways are the best. If you spend too much time thinking over everything you lose precious time to act."

"Perhaps, though too little thought could lead to potential disaster in actions," Mirel attested.

"Touché," Ragna admitted. "Anyways, that's all for my BlazBlue, now about my lesson in magic…"

"Indeed," Mirel told him. "However, I expect that this is not the last time we will be discussing your BlazBlue."

"Nah, I'll be sure to talk your ear off with more on my BlazBlue whenever you're up for it."

"I look forward to the occasion," Mirel said with a small smile.

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Mirel**

* * *

*Time Skip-The Road Back to Ylisse*

Ragna and the others were making steady progress back to Ylisse, they were already exiting the fringed snow of Regna Ferox and were entering the most natural temperatures of Ylisse.

 _'It's good to finally get out of that freezing snow,'_ Ragna thought to himself as he walked along the path. _'Maybe I'll call for everyone to take a break in a bit. I could use that to practice some of what I learned from Mirel.'_

Mirel had been a better teacher than expected and Ragna had already been able to learn a sort of pseudo-spell. Unlike the regular spells of this world, this spell was channeled through the BlazBlue and most likely require Dark Energy as a result.

 **Spell Learned:** _Wind_ This attack mimics the spell of its name, however it requires a specific amount of dark energy. This spell can be improved to _Elwind_ with sufficient practice.

 _A Talented and Cunning Fox_

 _'I guess this'll take some doing, but maybe I can master-'_ Ragna heard the twelfth set of giggles he'd heard since he'd left. He looked and Anna was the source of the outbursts with a cheerful smile on her face.

"You certainly seem cheerful, what's up?" Ragna inquired.

"I've had a great day today!" Anna said cheerfully. "Not only did I get into your group to get myself some protection, I managed to sell half of my current inventory at more than double my usual price!"

"Whoa seriously!? Wait." Ragna thought to himself for a moment. "When would you have had time to sell that much stuff? I saw that cart you had and it was filled to the brim!"

"After your little 'I'm from another world and I'm an ex-criminal, can you still love me?' thing." Ragna would've been annoyed if Anna hadn't said it so casually. "I managed to catch the eyes of some of the nobles. They start by asking me out to dinner, but ten minutes later I'm swimming in gold and their knee deep in merchandise." Anna let out a forlorn sigh. "It was heavenly."

"So in summary, a bunch of nobles were horny and you used your sex appeal to rip them off all the easier." Ragna let out a sigh. "You know what? Fine. They had this coming. But still, shoveling out that much stuff in less than four hours is pretty impressive. Does selling run in the family?"

"Nope!" Anna said cheerfully.

"Oh, sort of 'learn it on your own' type of girl? I can respect that."

"Silly! Selling doesn't run in the family, it IS the family! All of my sister, aunts, and my mother are all top class merchants. It's our way of life for the Anna family!"

"You know calling a family after your first name makes it sound like you think you're the only one that matters," Ragna decided to inform.

"Not if all the girls are named Anna," Anna asserted.

Ragna nodded in admittance. "That's fair I suppo- Whoa, what! ALL of you are named Anna!?"

"Yep, it's been that way for generations," Anna said with a smile.

"You're screwing with me! You have got to be screwing me!" Ragna had encountered some weird things in his time as the Grim Reaper, but this would top almost everything.

"Oh I'm completely sincere!" Anna said. "But if you don't believe me you'll have to meet one of my many sisters! We have over thirty around the world so we're sure to run into one of them sooner or later!"

"Dear god," Ragna groaned to himself. "I think this is going to give me a headache before long."

"Well I can sell you some herbs to help with that," Anna said with a smile and a giggle.

"Now that's just low!" Ragna shouted as Anna continued to giggle at his outbursts.

 **Support Rank C obtained with Anna**

Ragna sighed before he turned to the rest of the Shepherds. "Take ten everyone!" he shouted. The Shepherds listened to him and most sat to the ground. Ragna took a look and observed his surroundings, there was a forest just ahead of them. _'Damn I really need some me time, everyone's trying to be reassuring of me and shit, but it's starting to get annoying if everyone's doing it several times an hour.'_

Ragna made his way to the southwest and traveled along the edge of the woods for a few minutes. He wasn't looking for any area in particular, just some peace and quiet. He heard some chirping and saw a group of birds in the tress beside him. _'Huh, never had birds back in my world, they'd all been wiped out by the Seither. I know I've seen this type before in one of those books back at the church. What were they called again?'_

He spent the next few minutes looking at the birds and enjoying their songs and fickle natures. _'Tch, the Grim Reaper, bird watching. Wonder what my world would say if they could see this. It's almost time to start heading out, I should probably get back.'_

He turned to head out, but that was before something in the field behind him caught his eye. It was a body in a dark cloak. _'Is that someone passed out over there?'_ he thought to himself as he ran towards the body. "Hey! You alright?"

The person wearing the hood groaned. It was a woman in the cloak, she had silver hair which was braided and had a sword and tome on her person. Ragna knelt beside her. "Come on, say something."

The woman groaned weakly, as she slowly made her way to consciousness. She opened her eyes, they were a dull silver and she weakly regarded Ragna. "Who…"

"Take it easy," Ragna said. "You must've passed out here or something. Can you stand?"

"I… need some help…" the woman said to him. Ragna nodded as he extended his arm which the woman took hold of before he helped her up. She stumbled slightly on her legs, but managed to stand. "Thank you."

"What were you doing out here?" Ragna decided to ask. "Don't you know about the Bandits and Risen?"

"I-I'm sorry," the woman said to him. Ragna sighed, it never changed with him; he always had to be the one to look out for complete strangers.

"Forget about it," Ragna told her. "You got a name?"

"I… don't know," the woman shook her head with unease. "I can't remember anything. Not my name, not who I am or where I'm from… nothing."

Ragna looked at the girl straight into her eyes. She wasn't lying, he could tell that much, anyone else would have crumpled under the pressuring look he was giving her. "Amnesia, huh? Crap, that's not good. And you're sure you don't remember anything?"

"No I don't," the woman told him. "Any ideas where I can go?"

"I was actually on my way to the capital," Ragna told her. "At the very least we could try to get everything sorted there."

"I guess," the woman said to him. "But who are you?"

"Call me Ragna."

"Ragna…" the girl said testing it out. "Strange name."

"So the only thing you can remember is that my name's considered strange by society. Just my luck." The woman giggled. "Well we need to call you something, any ideas?"

"No," the woman said, shaking her head sadly.

Great, now there was another name that Ragna couldn't figure out. First the type of bird that he'd seen earlier and now this amnesic girl. The second one wasn't going to be an easy one, but he could swear that the first one was on the tip of his tongue. _'It starts with an R… Rolan… Rogin… Wait.'_

"Robin," he said once he finally realized the name.

"Robin?" the girl asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just saying something I remembered," Ragna told her as he shook his head, before a thought formed. "Actually… it sounds like it could be a good name."

"I guess so," the woman said to him as she extended her arm. "Nice to meet you Ragna, my name's Robin." She seemed less unsure and was actually smiling now.

"Likewise," Ragna said with a smirk as he shook her hand. "Come on, let's introduce you to the rest of the group."

* * *

*Time Skip*

"So how exactly did this happen?" Fredrick asked as he grabbed his forehead in a headache. Robin was seated on a large rock in front of him and Ragna stood behind the newcomer. Chrom and Lissa stood to Fredrick's sides.

"Exactly like I told you. I found her passed out on the side of the road, she has amnesia and I didn't want to leave her alone in the woods. Problem?"

"No, it's just that it hasn't been a week since we found you and you're we already found another person unconscious in the field."

"Wait, you were found unconscious in a field too?" Robin asked Ragna in surprise. Ragna simply nodded. "I guess it must be fate."

"I don't exactly believe in fate Robin," Ragna told his new friend.

"Hold on a minute," Chrom said to him. "It thought she had amnesia, where did the name Robin come from?"

"She didn't have a name so we came up with one," Ragna told Chrom.

"So I guess she's your responsibility then?" Chrom decided to ask. Ragna shrugged. "In that case keep an eye on here until we get to the capital. We'll get this sorted out there."

"Fine, c'mon Robin, let's go."

After the two left and started walking with the rest of the group Fredrick sighed to himself. "How the hell does Ragna keep meeting all these strange people?"

"It started when I met Chrom and Lissa!" Ragna shouted, apparently not outside of hearing distance.

"Oh sure," Chrom grumbled. "Blame it on me."

 **Authors Note: I don't own BlazBlue or Fire Emblem.**

 **A lot of Official stuff happening this chapter. Ragna revealing his past, meeting Robin, and staring to learn magic. So much to have happen, so few chapters to do it in.**

 **Anyways here's the Current Support Status.**

 **Robin: Joined**

 **Chrom: C**

 **Lissa: C**

 **Fredrick: C**

 **Sully: C**

 **Virion: C**

 **Stahl: C**

 **Vaike: C**

 **Mirel: C**

 **Sumia: C**

 **Kellam: C**

 **Lon'qu: Joined**

 **Cordelia: C**

 **Oliva: C (Not joined, officially anyways)**

 **Anna: C**

 **Emmeryn: C (Kinda Joined?)**

 **You guys have been great, I'll see you all the next Chapter!**

 **Ciao!**


	10. No Rest for the Weary

**Happy Veterans Day! Today's challenge: If you find a veteran or a serving officer anytime this week, just walk up to them and say "Thank you."**

 **Two Things Starting Off. One: I didn't directly say it last time, so I'll say it now, Robin is the basic female version. Ergo, build 1, hair 1, hair color 1, voice 1. Just like she appears in Brawl.**

 **Two: Hear are the responses to the fan mail.**

 **Sugouxxx: Glad to hear you liked it. I was pretty proud of it myself.**

 **BlakithLeo: Well not you don't need worry, it's official.**

 **Greyjedi449t: It's not going to be completely the same, most of the focus will still be on Ragna.**

 **Guest: Sorry, but Ragna's probably going to be the only BlazBlue character here.**

 **Anon: Still not sure about the whole harem thing, I still have a few plans for possible pairings.**

 **Richboylion: Maybe, it's still an option. I'll just have to base this off how the interact.**

 **Warrior of Six Blades: Just keep on following and reviewing man, I love the feedback.**

 **Starlightkitsune2178: Thanks for pointing that out.**

 **Guest (2): I might give them that sort of relationship. Not sure about Aversa joining though.**

 **Black sun 123: Look no further, read and enjoy.**

 **That last one goes to all of you. Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 _Chapter X: No Rest for the Weary_

"So this is the capital," Robin said as she observed the city around her. It was late that day and the stars had been out for about two hours now. Even in this darkness Robin was able to view some of the shops that were open this late at night and some of the people walking around. "We're heading to the castle right?"

"That's the plan," Ragna said as he carried the large trunk containing his tactician books over left shoulder. "Oh course, you'll have to wait in the lobby for a bit before we take you to the Exalt… if Emmeryn's even awake at this hour."

"Come on, it's not that late," Lissa told Ragna. "Plus, Emm has always been there for Chrom and me, no matter what hour of the night."

"What the heck did you need to wake her up for?" Ragna questioned.

"Nightmares…" Chrom admitted. "She was always the person Lissa and I went to for comfort."

"Say no more," Ragna said. "But anyways, the messenger should have arrived so there's no reason to wake her if we don't need to."

"Fair enough," Chrom said to his friend. "But while we're there I should show you your office. You'll have a place to keep your book on tactics organized."

"Tactics?" Robin questioned. "You're a tactician Ragna?"

"Yeah, but for the most part I'm just a front line fighter. I get everyone organized, tell them the battle plan, and shout commands if I need to change strategies." Robin was silent and appeared to be deep in thought. "Something up?"

"Huh… oh, it's nothing," Robin assured him as the group walked onto the castle grounds. Phila was standing with one of her lieutenants at the castle gate. The two nodded when Chrom approached.

"Welcome home price Chrom," she said to the leader of the Shepherds. Robin's jaw dropped in surprise and her eyes grew wide. She turned to Ragna while pointing her finger at the Chrom, the Reaper responded by giving an awkward smile and shrugging. "I'll take you to see her grace Emmeryn now if you wish."

"Actually could you let her know that we're on our way to see her if she's still up? I was about to show Ragna his office before we saw Emm."

"Certainly," Phila said as she entered the castle. Chrom, Ragna, Robin, and Lissa followed behind her into the main lobby. Fredrick and the rest of the Shepherds had returned to their garrison for the night. Ragna had seen the lobby before, but it seemed much gloomier now that they were using candles.

"Hey Robin," he asked the newcomer. "Would you rather wait in my office until after we talk to Emmeryn?"

"Not sure that's the best idea," Chrom said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Ragna asked.

-The Tacticians Office-

The office look like it hadn't been worked in for quite some time. It was completely covered in a thick layer of dust, the shelves were empty and covered in cobwebs, and there was a supply of unused candles in the desk drawer. There was also a window showing the city of Ylisstol, but that was currently the only redeeming quality of the room.

"This is what I meant," Chrom told the group. "Ylisse hasn't had a tactician in over a decade and well… our last tactician wasn't exactly the best of people. You have quite the legacy to fix Ragna. The main reason why no one was willing to enter this room was because they hated to remember the man who worked here."

"We'll I'm not him. Hopefully everyone can see that soon," Ragna said with little concern as he set the trunk on the ground and put his coat and sword on top of them. "As far as the room goes…" he walked into the office and shut the door, leaving his friends outside the office in minor confusion. " ** _Wind!_** "

There was the sound of a whirlwind on the other side as traces of dust leaked from underneath the door, followed by Ragna's coughing. "Did he really think that would work?" Chrom critiqued.

" ** _Wind_**!" Ragna continued, casting the spell again and again. Eventually he opened the door, covered in dust. "Yeah, I did."

Indeed the office behind him looked much better now that the dust and cobwebs were gone. Ragna had also managed to light the candles on the desk. It wasn't perfect, but some more advanced cleaning later would solve that.

"Well the office looks better," said a snickering Lissa. "But Ragna, you're a mess!"

"Huh?" Ragna asked, turning to Chrom. His commander pointed to a mirror that revealed Ragna's current status to himself. "Easily fixed," he said as he leaned out of window. " ** _Wind!_** " After waiting for the spell to wear off he brought his air dusted body back into the room.

"That's convenient," Robin said as she handed Ragna his coat which the Reaper put back on. Ragna decided he'd leave Blood-Scythe on his trunk while he went to visit Emmeryn, he'd be back soon anyways.

"Yeah, but I'll have to be careful, casting spells like that takes away the **Dark Energy** that my arm works off of."

"Dark energy?" Robin asked tilting her head.

"Oh right, we haven't told you about that yet," Chrom said to her. "We'll tell you about it later, it's quite the story."

"Alright, I'll see you guys after you talk to the Exalt." Ragna nodded as he exited his new office with others. "Ragna's been kind enough to help me out even though I haven't given anything to him or promised him something in return. Maybe I can help him get this office organized to say thanks."

* * *

-Emmeryn's room-

When Ragna, Chrom, and Lissa entered the eldest sister's room a maid had just left with a pot of fresh tea, some biscuits, and some jam. "Welcome back," Emmeryn said a warm smile that she was known for as she gestured for the three to take a seat, which they did, with Lissa instantly grabbing a biscuit. "I heard from the Feroxi messenger that you'd succeeded in your negotiations and we'd be receive Feroxi troops for protection within the week. You all have my dearest thanks."

"It wasn't easy," Chrom admitted, "But in the end we managed to state our point and win the support we need… in no small part to our otherworldly friend here," he said gesturing to Ragna.

"Otherworldly?" Emmeryn questioned Ragna. "Is that true?"

"Yeah, but it's kind of a long story…" Ragna told her.

"I imagine it would be, but I'd still like to hear it if you don't mind."

"Alright, but it's pretty dark," Ragna said as he recounted the tale he'd told earlier that day. Everything, from his childhood, Terumi's attack, his struggle against the NOL, and how he'd arrived in this world. Emmeryn was a patient listener, not interrupting Ragna by interjecting with her own thoughts, almost like a sort of psychiatrist. By the time he was done all of the biscuits had been eaten and the tea had been drank.

"You've been through so much already then," Emmeryn said to him, the Reaper merely shrugged. "But Ragna, if you've spent so much of your life fighting, why are you allowing yourself to become involved in this conflict, one that has little to do with you?"

"Simple," Ragna said seriously before smiling. "I don't desert my friends, ever. Plus, you guys are pretty much screwed without me."

"Not arguing," Chrom admitted. "But there's something else that we need to discus Emm. While we're used to getting a few unusual members in the Shepherds, Ragna found a mysterious woman on our way back from Regna Ferox. She's harmless as far as I'm concerned, but she's a complete amnesic. She has no memory of her name or her past. We brought her here and she's currently waiting for us in the tactician's office."

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Emmeryn told the group. "The poor girl doesn't even have a name to be called by."

"Actually, when I found her I came up with a name for her," Ragna told the Exalt. "We've been calling her Robin and she seems to like the name. The problem is what's going to happen from here. Any ideas on how to get her memory back?"

"Sadly I don't," Emmeryn admitted. "Could it be possible for her to travel with the Shepherds for now? Maybe you could come across someone that knows her in your travels."

"Either that or something to trigger her memories. I guess it's worth a shot," Ragna assured her. "I'd just have to keep her off of the frontlines. Did you want to meet her?"

"I'd very much like to," Emmeryn said with a small smile.

"If it's all the same to you two, I'm turning in," Chrom informed. "I'm still sore from all the walking we've done in the past few days alone."

"Same here," Lissa agreed with a yawn. "We've had a lot happen today. Night sis! Night Ragna!"

Ragna and Emmeryn headed back to the old tacticians office. It took them a bit considering the office was on the exact opposite castle wing. Ragna opened the door to his new workplace.

"Hey Robin, I… Huh?"

The Reaper was somewhat startled with the sight before him. His trunk full of tactical book from earlier was open and emptied. His sword was carefully moved to the side and propped against the wall, and Robin was sitting on his desk looking over his books while writing on several sheets of paper as she read. She finally looked up and realized the two were there.

"Ulp! Uh, hey Ragna. Sorry, I'd meant to put these books away, but curiosity got the better of me and I got absorbed into them."

"No harm done," Ragna said, still a little shocked at the development in front of him. He noticed one of the papers that Robin had written on. "Mind if I take a look at that?" Robin nodded and handed Ragna the sheet of paper. The Reaper started to look over it.

"I take it you're Robin?" Emmeryn said to the young woman who in turn nodded. "It's nice to meet you Robin, my name is Emmeryn."

"Oh," Robin said a little unsurely. "I'm sorry milady, I meant no disrespect. I should have-"

Emmeryn gave a small giggle. "Actually, it's nicer to have someone talk to me as an equal instead of the Exalt. Rest assured Robin, you're fine."

"Oh, well that's good," Robin said before returning her attention to Ragna who continued to stare at the paper he held. "Is something wrong Ragna?"

"Robin, how on earth did you learn to do all of this? I've read through all of my strategy books and I've never come across this one, in fact it looks like it's combined from some of the moves in the book… and pretty damn well too. Where'd you learn to do this?"

"I'm afraid I still can't remember. All I know is that these tactics seem familiar to me." Robin noticed that Ragna was gazing at her thoughtfully. "What is it?"

"I think I just found your memory trigger."

* * *

-Meanwhile: Unknown Location-

 **Note: this is going to be pretty mysterious and vague. If you don't get what's going on don't worry, it's actually not important.**

"I'd hate to say it, but it seems like we've hit a gap in our plan. How large of a gap you ask? Well, that would have include everything we were planning that doll for. Quite a shame really, we had her in a storage place thanks to HIM and we could retrieve her at our leisure but now there's been a glitch and she's gone. Without a trace, a message, or otherwise. One would think she'd be kinder to her master."

The boy with purple hair and medical glasses wasn't particularly annoyed with this new show of events, or at least he didn't appear to be. However, this was a type of person who could hardly be considered human, more of a 'thing,' both in design and in attitude.

"It's more that only part of her is gone…" a woman with blonde hair said to her associate. This woman wasn't actually there, but her voice certainly was. "Or was gone… she also appears to have moved, to an entirely different location."

"And you're sure that this isn't a problem; that we have absolutely nothing to worry about? Well, I guess we can't say absolutely nothing to worry about, after all there's still the matter of the High King, and more importantly is that Gear with him, _The Flame of Corruption_ , now that's something that we can't afford to take lightly. In fact, it makes our little runaway or 'copy' of her seem much more unnecessary to worry about. If she were to appear back in this world I can only imagine the chaos that would unfold for the opposing side, how much hesitation it would cause. Which one would be the real one? In this case, I doubt it really matters. And considering the BackYard, it's very likely we'd never come across the second version if it it's not the first version, so in the end it's of no consequence either way."

"Do you have no ideas to where she might be?" the woman asked.

"I thought you'd know me better than that by now. Do I ever have a lack of ideas? No, I always have ideas, far too many. Just like now, I have far too many ideas of what could have happened. She could have simply disappeared, or she could have been sent to a different point and time, or maybe a different world. Of course that just opens the doors to new question, which time, which world, is there any times we're unaware of, are there different worlds at all or is it just a theory, would she even survive there? It's interesting to think about, but so much to accomplish so little time. As it stands, one runaway bride is enough to worry about, so I say we only focus on one for now. I'll be leaving now, too much to do. Goodbye!"

With that the man with purple hair disappeared. The woman with blonde hair smiled to herself on her side of the mirror. "I hope for his sake that this does not come back to bite us… I'd hate to be the one to put him down…"

* * *

-That Night: Ylisse Barracks-

Ragna was heading back to the Shepherds barracks late that night. Robin had decided to stay at the castle that night because Emmeryn had wanted to talk to her. Ragna was also offered a spare room in the castle, but he'd turned down the offer and headed back to the barracks. It was very late when he finally made it back, he for one was ready to collapse after everything that had happened that day.

 _Insomnia_

 _'Damn I'm beat…'_ Ragna thought to himself as he walked into the barracks. He was about to head straight for his room before he faintly heard the sound of someone on the training grounds. _'Sully again? I should probably stop this…'_

As he headed for the grounds he was surprised to see not the familiar crimson knight, but Lon'qu, the swordsman from Regna Ferox. Ragna hadn't really talked to the guy yet, but now seemed a good as time as any.

"Didn't think that anyone would still be up," Ragna commented. Instead of freezing with surprise, Lon'qu finished the sword swing he'd starting and switched the angle of the blade to have it point behind him at Ragna.

"Tactician," he said curt but respectfully as he lowered the practice blade. "Is something amiss?"

"Just wondering why you were out here this late at night, seems pretty late to be getting some practice in."

"Hmph, practice can occur at any time for those who seek improvement above all else," Lon'qu argued. "Am I violating some sort of curfew?"

"As far as I can tell we don't exactly have one. I should probably ask someone about that," Ragna admitted. "I was just curious why you were up."

"Like I told you before, only to practice. Not to be disrespectful, but I'd appreciate if I were left to my sword work… alone." The passive-aggressive look Lon'qu was giving Ragna made it seem like less of a request and more of a threat.

"All right fine," Ragna said as he turned to leave. Lon'qu was about to take another swing with his sword before Ragna said something that made him freeze. "It's nightmares, isn't it?"

"What!?" Lon'qu demanded, somewhat caught off guard. "What would you know about it?"

"Plenty, especially after the accident that I had," he said. "After sometime I learned how to fight it. Either you let it control you, or fight through it and find a different goal."

"…When did your nightmares fade away?" Lon'qu had to ask.

"When I finally found what I was fighting for."

"You mean your revenge," Lon'qu guessed. "I've had my revenge from the day I've experienced what caused those nightmares."

"No, I found something else to fight for… but before that I just trained until I passed out. Then I was too damn tired get nightmares."

"That's usually what I have to resort to doing," Lon'qu admitted. "However, I find it easier to get a good sparring session in when I have someone to practice against."

"This again?" Ragna groaned. "Fine, but just to warn you I'm tempted to knock you out and be done with this crap."

"You're free to try," Lon'qu said as he threw the wooden sword towards his sparring partner. "However, that's a feat easier said than done!"

"Let's hope so!" Ragna shouted as he caught the practice sword and got into a dueling stance.

For the next twenty minutes the sounds of wooden swords striking echoed across the training field. Lon'qu turned out to be a better opponent than Ragna had given him credit for. His speed was devastating and his style employed that little detail in each of his actions. In the language of swords these two were certainly well versed. At the end the two launched themselves at each other for one last devastating attack with their blades. Both of the wooden swords shattered upon impact, both broken ends falling to the ground.

"Yeesh you're a demon," Ragna said as he observed his shattered sword.

"And you were holding back," Lon'qu noted. "It seems there's more that I can learn from you. I look forward to our next encounter." Lon'qu started to make his way off the training yard.

"Hey Lon'qu?" The myrmidon paused before turning his head to the Reaper. "Just what are those nightmares about?"

He didn't answer immediately. "My greatest failure… Not unlike your own it seems."

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Lon'qu**

"Guess I'll have to call it a night," Ragna thought to himself. "Maybe, I'll even have the chance to sleep in tomorrow."

* * *

*The Next Morning*

Ragna ended up waking up as the sun rose, but considering him, this was sleeping in. After bathing and eating, the Grim Reaper made his way outside. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, looked like it'd be another good day in this new world of his. Maybe today would turn out to be one of his more peaceful days.

 _'I should probably head to my office,'_ he thought to himself as he walked towards the castle. _'That place could use a better cleaning than the one I gave it last night. Wind magic isn't good for everything.'_ Within a short time he managed to make his way in front of the castle. There he saw one of the Pegasus Knights talking to Phila their conversation seemed serious. _'This doesn't bode well,'_ Ragna thought to himself. "Something wrong?"

Phila turned to acknowledge the Reaper. "We have a new situation, one that requires the Shepherds again."

"Now what's wrong?" Ragna groaned.

"SouthTown's about to come under attack again, this time from the Risen, we also have a group of bandits about to attack a farming village in the Southeast islands. We need you to head out as soon as you can. I know you're already weary from the jobs you've already completed, and for that I'm sorry."

"Well the sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get a chance at actually relaxation. I'll go grab Chrom and let him know what's going on."

 _Birds of a Feather_

After relaying the message to his captain, Ragna decided to head back to his office to check for necessary books that he'd need to bring with him. Once he entered the room he saw Robin sitting at his desk looking over his tacticians books.

"Looks like someone's eager to learn," Ragna said as he walked inside. Robin looked up and gave him a simple smile.

"This is the only thing that I can remember doing so I decided I'd try working with it and try to get some of my memories back. There's just too much about myself that I don't know."

"It's not worth worrying over, trust me." Ragna grabbed out his trunk and started going through some of the books her thought he'd bring. "For me things worked out in the end anyways."

"You had amnesia?" Robin questioned. Ragna nodded.

"Yep, I had to deal with amnesia for a time. And that's all it's about; time. You just wait long enough and things start to come back to you."

"I guess I'll stick with that for right now," Robin told him. "Emmeryn talked to me earlier and offered me a job as your assistant, I told her that I'd make sure it was alright with you before I decided anything."

"It's fine with me, but are you sure you want to do this? You just regained consciousness and you've got your own problems to deal with."

"Didn't you do the same when you first came here?" Robin said to Ragna. "I remember that story that you told me last night Ragna, you we're willing to give everything to helping Chrom because he needed it so I'll do the same."

"Alright," Ragna told her. "Anyways we're about to head out to battle, it's your call on whether or not you want to come with us or stay pack and practice."

"I'm not about to be left behind," Robin told him. "Ragna, I know you're looking out for me, but I need to be able to do this myself."

Ragna gave a small grin. "If you're that serious about it, follow me. We need to head back to the Shepherds barracks and get everyone organized."

"Right behind you boss," Robin said to him smiling.

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Robin**

* * *

*Time Skip- SouthTown*

"Looks like we're almost there," Chrom said as SouthTown came into view. "Any sign of the Risen?" he asked his tactician. Ragna focused so he could use his **Risen Sense** ability (he'd finally told Chrom about it).

"They're coming from the East and it seems like they're almost to the town. We're not going to have a lot of time to get up our defenses. Good news is that we're dealing with a much smaller force than last time, bad news is that they're much more diverse in numbers now. This won't be an easy fight."

"Yeah, but now we have two tacticians on our side," Chrom assured his friend. "Have faith, we should be done with this in no time at all."

"Let's hope you're right," Ragna told his friend.

The Shepherd set up their defensive position outside the town. The plan was basic, Kellam and Fredrick would advance first with Ragna since they had the highest armor, followed by Chrom who was the best-rounded and Lon'qu who had the ability to dodge most attacks. Sully and Stahl would take the sides of the attacking force preventing flanking. The two knights would be packed by Virion and Mirel into order to combat long ranged units. Lissa would stay at the back of the group with Robin protecting her with magic while Sumia and Cordelia would act as assists to finish off opponents or finish off the stray unit.

"Let's go!" Ragna commanded when the Risen came into range. The Shepherd followed their tactician into battle following the plan the both Ragna and Robin had come up with. Their plan proved to be devastating as the Shepherd quickly began to turn the tide against the risen.

On the front lines Ragna was making short work against his group of risen. He wasn't using any of his techniques, mainly because he didn't need to and this way he could conserve more **Dark Energy**. _'This was a good plan, we should be done here before-!'_

"No keep away from me! Don't get any closer!"

The source of the scream was feminine and it seemed to be coming from a group of risen off to the side. The group was fairly large and had several archers. This meant sending a Pegasus Knight in for a quick rescue was a no.

"Oh damn it!" Ragna shouted. "Robin take over for me! I'll be right back!" His fellow tactician nodded as Ragna left over his group. " **CARNAGE SCISSORS!** " he shouted as he rushed at the group and wiped them out with two massive slashes. Then he saw that target of his rescue and thing became a LOT more complicated.

She was wearing a white and red wedding dress with a bouquet of roses on it and white bunny like ears for a head piece. She had pinkish hair and bright light blue eyes. But the part that Ragna felt strangest about her? She was trying to use a GUN! Trying because the damn thing wasn't firing anything.

 _'She seems pretty out of place, damn it is she from another world?_ ' The woman in question didn't seem to notice Ragna yet she attempted to defend herself from a Risen swordsman using a pink rifle to defend herself. " **Hell's-!** " he shouted as he lunged forward and his fist impacted the attacking risen, destroying it instantly. **"-Fang!** " he finished sending out wave of darkness, destroying several Risen in the area. "Stay back!" he shouted to the girl behind him as blocked an axe warrior's attack before retaliating.

"O-Okay!" the woman behind him stuttered.

 _'At least we all speak the same language,_ ' Ragna thought as he tore through the Risen. _'Wait, why do we all speak the same language? Shouldn't everyone else here have some sort of medieval accent? Or was I just screwed up by the Boundary?'_ He ducked another Risen's slash at his head. _'And if she's not from my world, how the hell did she get here? And why the hell is she wearing a wedding dress?_ ' One thing was certain, Ragna wanted answers after this.

The fighting was over fairly quickly after that. Robin had done an exceptional job leading the other troops into battle and the Risen had only managed minor injuries on the Shepherds. After making sure that the other Shepherds were safe Ragna turned his attention to the girl he'd saved. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said to him. "Thank you for saving me. My name is Elphelt Valentine, but everyone usually calls me El. And you are?"

 ***Author's Note: Elphelt is from the video game** ** _Guilty Gear_** **. It's sort of the older brother of BlazBlue. You don't really need to know her backstory to proceed, just look up "Elphelt wins" on Youtube. That'll tell you everything you need to know about her.**

"Ragna. Anyways, I take it you're not from around here."

"Well…" Elphelt said, hesitating for a moment. "The problem is… I don't really know where I am."

"So you're from another world then," Ragna sighed.

"Wait, another world? Am I in some world traveling station place?"

"No, at least I don't think so," Ragna assured her. "The thing is I'm from a different world myself. Tell me do you know about a city called Kagutsuchi, the Ikaruga Federation, the NOL? Any of that ringing a bell?"

"Uh… no. I've never heard of any of those things. The last thing I remember was being in the Backyard before winding up here."

"The Backyard?" Ragna questioned. "Don't you mean the Boundary?"

"What's the Boundary?" Elphelt questioned. "But anyways, you seem to know more about this world travelling thing than I do… Can I stick with you for right now?"

"I guess," Ragna groaned. "Wonder how Chrom's gonna react to this one. But if you're coming with us you're going to need to figure out how to fight. It doesn't look like those guns of you are of any use."

"Yeah, it weird, I thought that this would be able to work, but something with this world's messing with me weapons. At least I didn't get any rips on my dress."

"About that," Ragna began as the two began walking to find Chrom. "Did you get pulled into this world during your wedding?"

"Uh, well I'm more of a runaway bride. I was supposed to marry this rock star, but then I got this attention of this other guy, I couldn't really bring myself to love the guy I was supposed to marry and well… I sort of ran. Not my most womanly moment."

"Right," Ragna said unsurely. "And you're still wearing that dress because?"

"Because I'd be naked without it," Elphelt informed him with a pout.

"That's… not what I meant," Ragna said exasperated. "Fine, wear the dress. Just don't blame me when it gets torn up from sword slashes."

"NO!" Elphelt screamed. "I can't have my wedding dress get ruined! It's terrible luck! I used guns for a reason!"

Ragna noticed that quite a few Shepherds were noticing him and the girl he was traveling with. He was getting odd looks from quite a few of them. Trying to force down his rising blush he regarded Elphelt. "Well it looks that you have three options from my perspective: Magic, Archery, or Healing. Learn one of those and stick with it."

With that the two finally found Chrom, Ragna was about to explain things to him when Chrom put his hand up. "Another one?" Ragna simply nodded. "All right then, what's your name?"

"Elphelt, but you can call me El if you want."

"And you trust her?" Chrom questioned his tactician.

"Well she's no friend of the Risen. That's for sure."

"Good enough for me," Chrom said. "Welcome to the Shepherd's, Elphelt. My name's Chrom."

"Nice to meet you Chrom," Elphelt said to the blue haired price. "So uh, Ragna… can you help me get started with magic or something. I kind of need your help to figure out how it works here."

"Fine," Ragna sighed as he walked off with Elphelt.

"I'll ask this again," Fredrick said with a sigh. "How does Ragna meet so many strange people?"

"I stopped asking that question a long time ago," Chrom admitted to him.

* * *

 **Authors Note: I don't represent or own any of the Video Game franchises presented here.**

 **Support Status:**

 **Elphelt Valentine: Joined**

 **Robin: C**

 **Chrom: C**

 **Lissa: C**

 **Fredrick: C**

 **Sully: C**

 **Virion: C**

 **Stahl: C**

 **Vaike: C**

 **Mirel: C**

 **Sumia: C**

 **Kellam: C**

 **Lon'qu: C**

 **Cordelia: C**

 **Oliva: C (Not joined, officially anyways)**

 **Anna: C**

 **Emmeryn: C (Kinda Joined?)**

 **A new outside character joins the fray. The story won't be focusing on lot on Elphelt, she'll mainly be there because I wanted to try writing support conversation between her and Ragna. I'll delve into her character a little more next chapter.**

 **Rate and Review!**

 **Ciao!**


	11. The Runaway Bride and the Princess

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Play the games for yourself.**

 **Authors Note: Huh, this stories been up for a while now, I wonder how high my view counter is.**

 **… IT'S OVER NINE-THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!**

 **To celebrate this event, I thought I'd give you all an early chapter. This one's more of a tie-in, but I personally think you'll like it. Here are the Review responses.**

 **Sugouxxx: Yep, Elphelt's joined the Party.**

 **Black Sun 123: Nope, Sol's still in his world. And with the whole Black Beast thing, Ragna will get around to it later… I guess?**

 **Speedking535: Well I can't say that they'll win for sure, but I decided to give a special shout out to you this chapter.**

 **Warrior of six blades: I haven't been reading a lot of fanfiction lately, plus I don't really know anything about Elsword. Nice try though.**

 **Greyjedi449t: Glad you enjoyed it, here's the next one.**

 **TheGrayKing27: I already talked with you over PM, but thanks for the review.**

 **Guest (1): Again, I'm not sure how I'm going to do my pairings, but I will say I'll probably give Ragna his own kid to raise.**

 **Guest (2): Sin was actually my other choice, but in the end I decided to stick with Elphelt because of some of the plans I have with her dialog. Glad to hear you enjoy my fanfiction.**

 **Without any further ado, here's the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Chapter XI: The Runaway Bride and the Princess_

 _The Heart of a Doll_

"You're… better at this than I thought," Ragna admitted to Elphelt as she finished casting a fireball spell, hitting a target he'd set up for her to aim at. The group was still in SouthTown, but they'd be heading out soon in order to catch the ferry a few miles away that would take them to the Southeast islands. He decided to use the time he had in order to teach Elphelt some magic. "Do you have something similar to magic in your world?"

"Yep!" Elphelt said cheerfully. "Of course the magic in my world doesn't come from magic books or a weird arm like you have. In my world we borrow magic off of something called the Backyard."

"Yeah, you mentioned the Backyard earlier, and if I remember right you told me it was how you got here in the first place," Ragna recalled. "So, what exactly is the Backyard? Some sort of alternate reality?"

"Uh, kind of. Inside that world is all of the data and information about the world I came from. It's really hard to explain, but think of it like the world I came from being a possibility and the Backyard is what generates that possibility."

"Huh," Ragna thought as he reflected on what Elphelt said.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I guess I'm not really the best at explaining it. It's not the easiest thing to describe." Elphelt gave a nervous but cute giggle as she scratched the back of her head.

"Actually I get what you're saying," Ragna admitted as he crossed his arms. "We actually had something similar to it in my world. There was even a system made inside that created and even altered the possibilities of my world through something called Phenomena Intervention."

"And that's the Boundary that you told me about?" Elphelt questioned. And Ragna nodded. "Wow, seems like our worlds are pretty similar then… I wonder how Ram would react if I was able to tell her about this."

"Who's Ram?"

"Oh, she's my sister, well one of them. I also had another sister, but mother didn't really say much about her."

"You had a mother in your world too?" Ragna asked.

"Well she's not really my mother, it's more like she gave commands to me and my sisters. We weren't really even born, the best way to put it is we somehow showed up out of nowhere in the Backyard."

 _'She was created in the Backyard, she has sisters like her, and someone else is pulling her strings… it sounds like I'm dealing with another Murakumo unit. And considering the fact that she was using guns…'_ "Hey, Valentine."

"Yes?" Elphelt responded, unsure of what Ragna was going to ask.

"How good are you at cooking?" Ragna asked seemingly out of nowhere.

"Oh, well I don't really have a lot of experience, but I do know a few good recipes. The main way I got my first fiancé to love me was for the way I managed to make him cake and cookies."

 _'Nope, not a complete replica at least,'_ Ragna thought to himself as closed his eyes with a sigh. "Just wondering." When he opened his eyes he noticed Elphelt right in his face. _'Creepy!'_ he thought with a shiver. "W-What are you doing?"

"Oh! I was just noticing how similar you are to a guy I know from my world… But maybe you're more different than I thought."

"How so?" Ragna asked curiously.

"Well you're both strong, expert swordsmen, spend a lot of time around royalty, wear red…" Ragna let out a small chuckle at that last one. "But the guy was pretty emotionless," Elphelt thought with a finger on her chin as she looked to the sky. "You seem to overact and emotionalize your feelings a lot more."

 _'Overreact!? That hurt,_ ' Ragna thought to himself, referring to the blow to his ego. "But back to the subject of you getting married, if you didn't love the guy, why were you about to marry him?"

"Because my mother told me to," Elphelt said sadly. Ragna now felt terrible for bringing that last topic up. "In fact, thanks to her… I don't think I'm capable of loving anyone. She intentionally created me so that I'd never be able to love. It's impossible for me."

"Bullshit," Ragna said without emotion, but his tone thick with confidence.

"Huh?"

"Look, I might not know every detail about how you made it to this world, or how you were created in the first place, but I know that anyone and anything's capable of love. I won't go into details just yet, but I'm not exactly normal from my world and I still had people I cared about, maybe even loved. I also met someone who was more similar to you than you'd think and she had people she loved; she loved her friends with a fiery passion and she fought hard for their sake…"

Ragna thought back to the first time he'd met Noel and he remembered how meek and timid she'd been. Then he remembered how she reacted when her friends were in danger. She might have been well out of her league, but she'd never stop fighting for the people she cared about. In the end, Ragna liked to think she was actually able to become his equal in combat, not because of her Murakumo powers, but because of the love she had for her friends.

"Look, what I'm trying to get at is that no one decides whether you can love someone or not, you're the one who decides that, and sometimes love just happens. It's not something you can give or take, but when it happens you're sure to know."

In that instant, Elphelt looked at Ragna like she was seeing a different person, she was starting to notice different things about the Reaper. The way his soft white hair flowed in the wind, his bright mismatched eyes, the way he held his shoulders with strength and confidence despite carrying a greater weight on them than anything she could see, and his smile… That gentle, reassuring, and kind smile that almost seemed to have a hidden sadness behind it.

"What's up, I got something on my face?" Ragna questioned, giving Elphelt a strange look. The Valentine blushed madly before turning away from the Reaper.

"It's nothing! I swear it's nothing!" she cried out, confusing the Reaper even further.

"Uh, if you say so," Ragna told her, putting a hand on her shoulder before walking away. What he didn't notice was even deeper blush that El got when he touched her. "Anyways, keep working on magic for now, I'll come back to grab you when we're about ready to head out."

"R-Right!" she shouted. Before immediately channeling the magic to her hand and creating flames in her hand and pointing the fire at the target.

 _'She's a strange kid…'_ Ragna thought to himself as he continued back into SouthTown. _'I don't really get her, but I guess she means well at least.'_

After Ragna had left Elphelt let the fire die down, letting her thought getting the better of her. ' _What was that just now? I know it happened because of Ragna and that I felt… warm. Is this what it means to be human? To have feelings? To truly care about someone? To… love them?_ '

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Elphelt Valentine**

* * *

*SouthTown*

 _'Well now,'_ Ragna thought as he walked through SouthTown. _'I didn't really get a chance to look around this place the last time I was here. Maybe this time I can at least find a place to get some decent grub. After all, Chrom gave me my first paycheck before we left.'_ As he was walking he got the distinct felling that he was getting followed. He turned and saw a little girl with blonde hair and bright green eyes walking behind him. _'Why the hell is she stalking me? Wait… she seems familiar.'_

"Rose! Rose!" a woman called out before she spotted the child. She had blonde hair and green eyes like the girl in front of him. "There you are!" she said with relief before she noticed Ragna. "Huh, wait you're…"

Ragna was confused for a moment, before he remembered two of the bandits he'd killed the last time. Both of those freaks were terrorizing a little girl and were about to kill her. So that would make this kid in front of him the one he saved?

"Look, it's the guy who saved me last time!" Rose said, referring to Ragna, confirming the Reapers theory. "But we never got your name."

"Just call me Ragna," the Reaper told them.

"Oh! Well thank you for saving Rose's life, if it weren't for you I shudder to think what those bandits would have done."

"No problem," Ragna told her. "I'm just glad your daughters' doing well."

"Err…" the woman said to him with a nervous smile, she seemed a little unsure.

"What's wrong?"

"Jane isn't my mother," Rose told him. "She's my big sister."

"M-My bad, sorry," Ragna said with a nervous smile. _'Smooth Ragna, real smooth.'_

"So you're travelling with Prince Chrom now?" Jane asked. Ragna gave a simple nod. "Wow, I guess you must've really impressed him when you saved SouthTown a week ago. And it looks like your eye and arm have healed since then."

"Yeah, well a lot's happened since a week ago," Ragna told her.

"I'll say," Jane said with a small giggle. "I just heard this extravagant bard with some sort of bib trying to woo the crowd with tales of someone that managed to talk down a noble sword master with his bare hands. And in only a single punch!"

 _'Virion…'_ Ragna thought somewhat annoyed. "Yeah, well his story probably has a few gaps in it. You know how bards are."

"How would you know?" Rose questioned. "Were you there?"

"You… could say that I guess," Ragna said before let out a cough. "Anyways, I should probably get going, it was nice seeing you two again."

"Yep. See you later Ragna!" Rose said before walking off with Jane. Once they were gone Ragna continued walking through the city by himself, but not for long.

 _Eating out_

"Hey Ragna!" Lissa called out. Ragna turned his attention to the princess as she made his way towards him. "I thought you were helping that new girl with magic. Her name was Elphelt, right?"

"Yeah, she seemed to be doing well enough, so I let her practice on her own while I took a look around town before we headed out. Anyways, did you need something?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to grab something for lunch with me," Lissa asked with a large smile on her face. "I-If you didn't have anything else you were doing," she added hastily.

"No, actually lunch sounds pretty good right now," Ragna assured her. "Didn't really have a chance to get breakfast this morning so I'm pretty hungry."

"Well I heard about this really good place in town, c'mon!"

"All right, all right," Ragna said with a chuckle as he followed the princess through town. On the way to the restaurant he was able to observe that the town was in better shape than when they'd left it last week. Most of the damage was repaired and most of the stalls were filled with this year's harvest.

They came to the restaurant after a few minutes. It was a pretty basic one, several tables, couple of chairs at the bar, fairly busy, and cleaned. A couple of people gave them a couple of strange looks when they walked inside, Ragna did his best to ignore it and Lissa didn't really seem to notice. Ragna pulled Lissa's seat out to help seat her before sitting at the table himself. A waitress came out to take the orders for the two of them.

"What'll the two of you be having?" she asked.

"I think I'll have one of the meat pies," Lissa said happily.

"I'll have the same," Ragna agreed.

"And to drink?" the waitress asked. "We just managed to make some juice from this year's harvest of apples."

"Oh, I'll definitely have some of that," Lissa said.

"I have a beer thanks," Ragna said simply. The waitress nodded to them with a small smile. "I hope you two enjoy yourselves," she said before she walked off.

"Been awhile since I've eaten out," Ragna said. "Nice for a change of pace."

"You didn't eat at restaurants much before you-?" It was then that Lissa realized the two were in public and Ragna didn't exactly want anyone to know about his otherworldly origins. "I mean, before all of this?"

"Yeah," Ragna said before the waitress came back with their drinks. Ragna gave a respectful nod to the waitress before taking a sip of his drink. He put his tankard on the table and wiped the froth on his mouth with his jacket sleeve. "Part of the reason was that I didn't exactly fit in with the crowd."

"And here I thought it was because you were always flirting with the waitresses and getting into trouble," Lissa said with a giggle.

"I never flirted, mainly because I didn't want to get thrown out of the restaurants by angry husbands." Lissa looked at Ragna with minor confusion. "Most of the waitresses were married to the cooks where I'm from."

"Oh," Lissa said in understanding.

"The other reason was because when I DID go out, the people I went with often forced me to take them. There were two culprits in particular, the first one was more common, she was a complete scatterbrain and it seemed like clearing an entire restaurant was just a mild snack for her."

"You're serious?" Lissa asked befuddled as the waitress came back with the pies and set them on the table. "I have a hard time believing that anyone could be that hungry."

"Let's put his in a different perspective," Ragna said before digging his fork into his pie and taking a bite out of it. "That time it took me just now to have that one bite? She'd have completely finished her entire pie and then would have proceed to steal half of mine."

"Oh wow," Lissa said surprised. "I can understand why that'd be a problem, you'd probably be bankrupt after a few rounds after that."

"Pretty much, but the depressing thing was that she was the better of the two…" Ragna said with an irked expression. "Okay, so when I first meet the other one I think that she's just some kid on the streets, but then she starts shouting out to everyone else after I ignore her, making me seem like the devil incarnate, and then FORCES me to buy her a meal! And while we're having said meal, which I should add I paid for, she INSULTS me! She calls me every put-down imaginable in society before leaving! And I'm left to pay for FIVE meals worth of food!" Ragna crossed his arms and sighed. "Worst. Day. Ever."

"That… does sound pretty bad," Lissa admitted as she continued eating her pie. "But, you don't think she might be doing that because… I don't know… underneath it all… she might… actually… like you…?"

Ragna just stared at Lissa. "…Sorry, what was that?"

"I was just thinking maybe she actually liked you?" Lissa said, a little unsure at the look Ragna was giving her. "D-Did I say something wrong?"

"Heh…heheheh… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ragna's laugh was so loud that everyone outside the restaurant managed to hear it. "Oh Lissa, are you sure you aren't some comedian? That's the best joke I've ever heard! There's no way Luna can even tolerate me, much less like me! That little brat was sure that I knew that!"

* * *

*Meanwhile*

"ACHOOO!" came the sneeze from a young girl in ratty cloak.

"Luna," another voice sounded from underneath cloak, this one masculine. "Are you all right?"

"Luna's fine. Some pedo's probably bad talking about Luna again! Ragna the Loliedge! I know it is Sena!"

"Luna…" Sena said with a sigh. "Ragna's dead, remember? He fell into the Boundary before the final Cauldron was shut. He can't exactly insult you from beyond the grave."

"Aqualung is the one who's insulting me! Luna is never wrong!" the moody child attested.

* * *

*Back to the Restaurant*

"Okay, so it was a dumb idea," Lissa said in a huff. "That doesn't mean you had to laugh at me!"

"Actually that was the best laugh I've had for a while. Put a smile on my face, that's for sure," Ragna assured her, still chuckling. "I should actually thank you, you definitely put me in a better mood, just like you do everyone else in the Shepherds."

"Y-you really think so?" Lissa asked the Reaper, blushing slightly.

"Yeah, I mean, remember that talk we had in the woods when we first met? Everyone has their role in the Shepherds, and yours is healing the Shepherds and putting a smile on our face when we need it. Surely you've noticed how much you put everyone in a better mood just by talking to them."

"I guess people tend to smile when they're around me…" Lissa admitted. "And you're always there too, to help us out with whatever we need."

"I try my best," Ragna assured her as he took another bite of his pie.

"Hey, Ragna?" Lissa asked. Ragna looked up from his pie. "Thank you… for everything."

Ragna gave a small smile. "My pleasure, princess."

 **Support Rank B Obtained with Lissa**

 **Support Conversation Status**

 **Elphelt Valentine: C**

 **Robin: C**

 **Chrom: C**

 **Lissa: B**

 **Fredrick: C**

 **Sully: C**

 **Virion: C**

 **Stahl: C**

 **Vaike: C**

 **Mirel: C**

 **Sumia: C**

 **Kellam: C**

 **Lon'qu: C**

 **Cordelia: C**

 **Oliva: C (Not joined, officially anyways)**

 **Anna: C**

 **Emmeryn: C (Kinda Joined?)**


	12. Does the Scythe Reap Farmland or Souls?

_Chapter XII: Does the Scythe Reap Farmland or Souls?_

The Shepherds were currently on the boat that would ferry them to the Southeast islands. They'd already solved the problem of Southtown's risen problem, not it was time to address the bandit problem on the farming islands. The bandits had been causing trouble for several of the towns, and because they lacked the proper town guards the Shepherds were called in for duty.

The ship was fairly small, but all of the shepherds still had enough room to walk around and the cabins below were available for use if anyone needed to get some rest. Currently Ragna was above deck leaning on the rail as he looked out into the sea and enjoyed the salty air. It'd been to long since his last sea voyage, so the Reaper was set on enjoying this little experience while it lasted.

 _'Where was I last time I was on a boat?'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'If I remember correctly it was when I went to the past and saw Celica. That was when the Black Beast was still rampant… I still haven't told Chrom or the others about the Black Beast yet, or the fact that I can end the world if I ever let myself lose control… On the other hand, I don't really think that they need to know. This'll be my secret from them.'_

Ragna stayed there for a while longer before he heard footsteps approaching him, he turned his head and saw that it was Lissa. The young princess leaned on the railing beside him for a moment before speaking.

"Enjoying the trip?"

"You could say that," Ragna told her. "It's been forever since I've been out in a boat. Anyways, did you need something?"

"Yeah actually, it's Cordelia," Lissa said to him. "Something's… different about her. I don't really know what it is, but she just kinda seems different. You know?"

"Why are you coming to me for this?" Ragna questioned, though not harshly. "You realize you could always just ask her yourself?"

"I tried, but she just never seemed to say anything to me," Lissa said somewhat disappointed. "Maybe you could try asking her? I know she seems to trust you a lot."

"If you really think it's such a big deal I'll talk to her. No promises though." With that Ragna started heading below-deck. He stood outside of the room he'd seen Cordelia enter to rest or whatever before knocking on the door.

 _Realization_

"Yo Cordelia, you inside?" he asked. "I was hoping we could talk for a bit before we got to the island."

The door opened, revealing the crimson haired Pegasus Knight. To Ragna's satisfaction she didn't look like she was drowsy from a nap, so he knew that he hadn't waken her. The room behind her was mostly empty, but there was a bed and a chair, so the two would at least have somewhere to sit."

"I'm always available to talk," Cordelia said with a bright smile that Ragna didn't remember seeing when he'd talked to her back in the fort. "Please come in."

"Thanks," he said as he walked inside. Cordelia closed the door behind him and sat on her bed. Ragna took a seat on the chair. "So… how have things been? We haven't had much of a chance to talk lately."

"I've been doing really well," Cordelia assured him. "I've been doing well with my training and I've had fun talking with the other Shepherds. I even talked to Robin and Elphelt when we were in Southtown and got to know them a little better. They seem to be very kind individuals."

"Yeah, they do," Ragna agreed. "They're also pretty optimistic, despite not having any memories to go off of or even knowing where they are. Anyways, I was actually here because Lissa said that you seemed different."

"So she put you up to this," Cordelia said, looking somewhat disappointed. "I told her that I'm fine and that there's nothing wrong with me."

"I can believe that you're still doing well," Ragna said to her. "But I also have to agree with the princess. You certainly seem different, but not at all in a bad way. You look like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders or something. You don't have to tell me now, but I'm curious to know what's going on."

"Well I can certainly tell you. After all, you're the reason that I'm doing so well," Cordelia said giving the Reaper a small smile.

"Sorry, but if you're referring to something, I have absolutely no idea what. Think you can explain?" Ragna asked.

"It was when you talked to me back at the fort, remember when I was disappointed after the battle on the road?"

"Yeah," Ragna said. "You were disappointed after that fight because you weren't noticed by… Chrom. Sorry, I remember that I was going too far with my advice."

"On the contrary, it was just what I needed to hear," she assured him. "I gave some thought to your words and I realized you were right. I was letting this obsession eat me alive, but now I've realized to move on."

"Wait, seriously!?" Ragna asked, completely surprised. "I didn't expect my advice to be so… effective."

"Well it certainly was," she told him. "Of course part of the reason for that was the compliment you gave me afterwards. You gave me the same feeling that I used to get from Chrom. That's when I realized that the only reason I felt like that was because I was unused to receive such heartfelt compliments like that."

"Huh, so it was the compliments…" Ragna said, mostly to himself. "And now you're deciding to look past that?"

"Yeah," Cordelia told him. "Chrom's still my commander and a wonderful person, but now I know that there are other people out there. People who will take notice and see me for who I really am. So… thank you."

"You're welcome," Ragna said giving a small chuckle and a smile. "If it's alright with you, can I let Lissa know what this was about? I don't think she'll stop nagging me otherwise."

"Certainly, I think everyone knew about the crush I used I have on Chrom anyways," she let out a giggle. "Well, except for Chrom himself of course." It was funny, earlier she'd felt pain when talking about this, but now she felt like it was just something she could look back and laugh on.

"Yeah, Chrom's not exactly the sharpest tool in the romance shed. Anyways I'll see you later Cordelia. Good luck in the fight today."

"To you as well," she said to him. After Ragna had left she lied on her bed and thought to herself. _'I know that Ragna is there for me, and I think I'm starting to fall for him… but I want to make sure I know what I'm getting into. I don't need another unrequited love story._

Despite her uncertainty, Cordelia was feeling better than she'd had in years. Even if Ragna didn't end up becoming her lover, she'd always have him as her friend… and that meant the world to her.

 **Support Rank B obtain with Cordelia**

* * *

*Later*

Ragna walked beside Robin, Fredrick, and Chrom at the front of the Shepherds as the three looked at the plains around them and tried to figure out the map.

"So according to the information we've received it looks like we'll find the bandits base to the south, inside those woods over there," Fredrick said. "Seems pretty straightforward."

"But there's also this small farming town to the east," Robin reminded him. "We'll want to make sure those people are alright. Maybe they could give us insight on what's going on and a more precise location of the bandits."

"But the bandits could attack another town while we're helping that one," Fredrick argued back. "I'd say we wipe out the bandits now and look after the towns later."

"Or we could pay attention to the threat right in front of us," Chrom scolded them. In front of the party was a young boy being chased by two bandits, the boy seemed fairly young and had curly brown hair underneath his tin pan hat. Once the bandits took notice of the Shepherd they immediately began to retreat.

"Robin!" Ragna commanded as his as his assistance tactician got the message. He cast his wind spell as she cast a lightning spell. Each of the spells hit the bandits and finished them off.

"Prince Chrom!" the young farmer exclaimed. "I need yer help ser!"

"Calm down," Chrom said to him. "Just tell us what's going on."

"It's my village! Those darned bandits attacked us and kidnapped my ma and Jessica! They're taking over my village!"

"Looks like we know what to do," Ragna told the others. "What's your name?"

"I'm Donnel," he told them. "My village is over thar to the east. Please hurry!"

Out of the corner of his eye Ragna noticed Robin grin Fredrick a cocky grin since she'd been right. He decided to address their shenanigans later. "All right then, c'mon Donnel, we're heading out!"

"Wha? But I can't fight! I'm just a farm boy!" Donnel protested.

As the rest of the Shepherds started heading out Ragna stayed behind to address the young man. "They've got people close to you right?" Donnel nodded. "I've been in your spot myself, but back then I didn't have a chance to fight back and I've always regretted it. You have this chance so don't do something you'll regret… or something you'll regret not doing."

Donnel said nothing as he just stood there and grimaced. "But… I-!"

"Tch! Fine, be that way," Ragna said as he ran off. He knew that he'd been too tough on a kid he just met, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now. He'd apologize once he made sure that everyone got out of this alive.

*Meanwhile*

"Where the hell are they!?" Roddick yelled as the peasants he'd just taken over started loading this year's harvest onto wagon for the bandits to take back to their base. "Those two idiots said that they'd kill that twerp and be back shortly!"

"Look boss," one of the brigands said to him. "Maybe the kids just faster than we thought. But it doesn't matter anyways. The closest one that could take us is the capital and they have problems of their own from what I hear."

"You're right, those stupid nobles and those weak Shepherds wouldn't be able to take us anyways! We're the strongest bandit group in Ylisse!"

"You got that right boss!" the brigand shouted before cupping his hear. "You hear something? It sounded like-"

"Virion Away!" came the battle call as an arrow impaled itself in the brigand's heart. The man looked in surprise before falling forward dead. Across the battlefield sounds of screams echoed as the brigands were being quickly dispatched.

"We're under attack!" Roddick shouted. Noticing that he had few options, he tried to find an option to escape, but all he saw was a few of the… oh, that could work.

Ragna was busy cutting through the bandits on his side of the town. He'd had the Shepherds split up so that they could each take out a smaller portion of the bandits and ensure the safety of the townsfolk. It was then he looked up and noticed one of the bandits was trying to sneak away while holding a middle aged woman hostage.

"Not this again," Ragna said as he ran forward trying to catch the bandit off guard. Unfortunately for him as soon as he was within ten feet then bandit turned to face him with the axe at the woman's neck. "Shit!"

"You people really screwed up my plans!" the bandit yelled at Ragna with hate filled eyes. "Now I need to raise a new bandit group! Do you know how long that's going to take!?" Ragna didn't say anything as he kept his sword drawn. "How the hell did you manage to find us anyways?"

"We were brought here by a kid who managed to get away from you freaks," Ragna said without emotion.

"That was my son!" the woman shouted. "Is he safe? Is he alive? Is he-?"

"He'll be dead later!" Roddick yelled, before noticing Ragna taking a step forward. "Oh no you don't! Either you drop your weapon or I'll slit he throat right here and now!"

Ragna was silent for a moment as he weighed his options, but after a few moments, he defied all current standings and smiled. "All right," he said planting his sword in the ground. "You win."

"Wha?" the bandit said completely confused.

"I surrender, you got me. You won't have any trouble from me," Ragna said surprising both of the people in front of him. "But that's not going to sit well with the kid."

"What kid?" Roddick demanded before he was startled be a battle cry.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Donnel yelled as he stabbed bandit leader in the back with a pitchfork. The leader gave a surprised grunt of pain as he slowly turned and looked at Donnel with hate filled eyes.

"Little... bastard..." he was barely able to say he his last breath left him and he fell to the floor. Donnel's mother looked down at the corpse of her previous captor in surprise before going to hug her son.

"Ma, I'm fine," Donnel said looking somewhat embarrassed. Ragna gave a small chuckle as he grabbed _Blood-Scythe_ out of the ground and placed it on his back. "Hey wait," he heard Donnel say. "I'm not the strongest guy in tha village, but I can help ya."

"Donnel, what are you saying?" his mother demanded.

"Ma, he's with Prince Chrom and the Shepherd's! I can help them!"

"But…" his mother sighed. She knew her son was only doing what he always did, what he thought was right. "Stay safe and make sure you say goodbye to Jessica," she said to her son with a small smile.

"All right ma," Donnel said as he ran off.

"He'll be in good hands," Ragna assured her. "We'll teach him everything we know and he'll go far with that courage of his."

"Will he really get a chance to work with Prince Chrom?" his mother asked.

"Well he was the one who lead Chrom here, so I'd say he already is," Ragna told her. "I've got to check in with the rest of the city."

 _Strange Love_

As Ragna walked around the city he passed by Donnel talking to a girl that seemed to be about his age. _'That must be his childhood friend Jessica,'_ he thought to himself. It was then that Jessica lunged forward and met Donnel's lips with her own. _'Well now, wasn't expecting that one. Kid's a smoother operator than I thought.'_

Ragna heard a sigh beside him and saw Elphelt observing young Donnel. "Ahhh, young love."

Ragna grimaced slightly as he grabbed the Valentines arm and started to drag her away. "Let's give the kid some room."

"Sorry," Elphelt said as she blushed slightly and walked beside Ragna. "It's just I've always enjoyed a good love story…"

"Yeah, I can see that El. I just think that there needs to be a bit of privacy for those two, I mean it's a special moment and all of that."

"Oh, I didn't think that you were much of a romantic Ragna. Then again, I suppose it does make sense."

"What do mean?" Ragna asked, not sure where this was going.

"Well, you're from another world right? That means that you're probably fighting to-!" Elphelt stopped for a moment, blushing for what she was about to say.

"What? What am I fighting for?" Ragna asked, his interest piqued.

"Well, you're fighting to go back home right?" El said, now not meeting his gaze. "I mean you obviously have a family to get back to or a… lover." Her blush seemed to increase tenfold with that last word."

"Okay first off, I'm not fighting to go back to my world. I was wanted dead by everyone before I came here. Second off, I like it here and my friends need me, this is like my second chance. Third, my family wanted me dead last I heard and they knew they'd never hear from me even if I wasn't sent here. And lastly, I never had a lover."

"Oh… okay then," Elphelt said. "So you really didn't have a special someone where you were from?"

"No, I didn't," Ragna told her. "I was fighting a war most of my life, so I have no experience dating whatsoever."

"But that's so lonesome," Elphelt complained as the two walked through the city. "Maybe I can help you find someone."

"Pass," Ragna said. "Why do you care anyways?"

"I care because thanks to you I'm finally starting to learn what love is." Okay Ragna hadn't been expecting that, and lo and behold all of the Shepherd were noticing as Elphelt had said that.

"Well…" Chrom started, somewhat surprised. "And only after a day of knowing her… You move fast Ragna…"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Ragna said with a furious blush as he wove his hands horizontally in front of him at a rapid rate. "She's talking about something else!"

"He's right!" Elphelt exclaimed. "Ragna was actually helping me out with something else, it's not like that!"

"If you say so," Chrom said as Ragna speedily walked away, Elphelt following closely behind him.

"Thanks for that, now who knows what everyone's going to think."

"I'm sorry," Elphelt said, pretty deflated.

"Ah, it's not your fault. This'll blow over soon anyways. But what did you mean by that?" he asked.

"Well, it's more like I'm starting to get used to the feeling of caring for someone. You, the rest of the Shepherds, everyone really. And I'm starting to get used to the idea of being in this world."

"You do get used to it after a while. Anyways, are you trying to get back to your home world?"

"Actually no," Elphelt told the Reaper. "I've been thinking and I was supposed to be a cataclysm for my world. I care about the people in my world too much to go back and be turned into a weapon."

"I understand that all too well," Ragna told her. "Anyways, the town seems to be decent condition, so you want to practice magic?"

"Sounds good, hopefully we'll be able to learn some new spells."

 **Support Rank B Obtained with Elphelt**

 **Authors Note: Don't own anything.**

 **Support Ranks**

 **Elphelt Valentine: B**

 **Robin: C**

 **Chrom: C**

 **Lissa: B**

 **Fredrick: C**

 **Sully: C**

 **Virion: C**

 **Stahl: C**

 **Vaike: C**

 **Mirel: C**

 **Sumia: C**

 **Kellam: C**

 **Lon'qu: C**

 **Cordelia: B**

 **Oliva: C (Not joined, officially anyways)**

 **Anna: C**

 **Emmeryn: C (Kinda Joined?)**

 **Donnel: Joined**

 **First off, thank you all for the vote you submitted. I'll probably come up with the next chapters myself. Hopefully you enjoyed it.**

 **Speedking535: I'm trying to keep this a Ragna only story (despite adding Elphelt) so no tales characters, sorry. I have played Tales of Symphonia, but I'm not that great with the lore. I see you've pick your pairing.**

 **Sugouxxx: Whatever floats your boat I guess. You'll be seeing some of the archest of Archers in the coming chapters.**

 **Warrior of Six Blades: The Summarizer returns. I'm glad to have someone reading my stories so in depth.**

 **Mrgamerandwatcher: Well here's the next chapter. Hopefully this holds you off for awhile.**

 **IdeaPerson1097: It's only the way I present him getting his powers is like the gamer. The real way he gets his powers is through intense training.**

 **Black sun 123: I get the reference, but Ragna will be able to one-shot a lot of the guys in the earlier chapters.**

 **Until Next Time!**

 **Ciao!**


	13. Back to the Capital

_Chapter XIII: Back to the Capital_

"It's about damn time we made it back," Ragna muttered as he saw Ylisstol in the distance. "Fighting Risen in SouthTown, bandits in the southwest islands wasn't bad, but I think we've earned a rest."

"No arguments from me," Chrom told his friend as the two walked alongside each other. "So how as your time with Elphelt?"

"For the love of-!" Ragna stopped himself for a moment. "Who do you consider god in this world?"

"Depends on who you ask. For me it's Naga."

"Oh, then for the love of NAGA! We're not in a relationship, and we've barely been friends for a few days as it is! Why can't anyone here get that?"

"I don't know," Chrom said with a smug grin. "Maybe it's the fact that I do get it and I was just messing with you."

"…Damn it Chrom," Ragna grumbled as he held his head in shame. Even after all of this time he was still able to get played like a fool on occasion. He'd learned overtime, however, that the best way to get back at someone is to hold a secret trump card. "But what about the way you interact with women? Why don't we talk about that?"

"And what do you mean by that?" Chrom asked, his eyes narrow in a glare.

"Well, for example, I just spent some time talking with Robin after we left Donnel's village." The sudden nervousness on Chrom's face was priceless, Ragna was just making this too easy. "I distinctly remember her grumbling something about a blind, idiotic, and braindead prince when I brought you up. Care to explain?"

"We… just had a bit of a disagreement," Chrom defended.

"Really?" Ragna asked, his grin increasing. "And what, play tell, was this 'disagreement' about?"

"It was just a mild argument," Chrom quickly said, Ragna could tell the prince was lying. "I didn't even do anything wrong!"

"Nothing wrong!?" Robin exclaimed from behind Chrom. As the prince turned and saw her, he realized that she'd been standing behind him ever since he and Ragna got into this little spat. Ergo, she'd been listening the entire time. "Well I distinctly remember you saying I wasn't anything like a woman! Not classy, pampered, or even pretty!"

"You know that's not what I meant," Chrom said trying to defend himself. "All I was saying is that I see you as less of a women and more of a fellow Shepherd."

 _'I… am not responsible for this,'_ Ragna thought to himself in desperation before looking at Chrom. "Run."

"Why should I run? I was just clearing the-"

Robin then took her thunder tome out and her hands were already glowing with yellow electric energy.

"Running," Chrom said as he took off with an enraged Robin right behind him.

"Get back here you coward!" Robin shouted as Chrom did his best to avoid all of the lightning blasts she sent his way. Ragna might've tried to help Chrom out, especially since he'd gotten him into this situation, but it was Chrom's fault he said the things he did.

 _Friends_

"Shouldn't we put a stop ta that?" Donnel asked from beside Ragna. "The prince could get hurt like this."

"Chrom will be fine, he's survived much worse. Plus, I'm not about to get in the middle of that," he said gesturing to where Chrom was trying his absolute hardest to dodge the lightning bolts that Robin was sending his way.

"Dontcha feel that yer not showing enough respect? Chrom is the prince," Donnel decided to remind him.

"Doesn't really mean anything to me," Ragna told Donnel. "I respect him as a person and he's a great friend of mine, but titles mean absolutely nothing to me. If I treated Chrom as a good person because of his title would we really be friends?"

"Uh… I guess not?" Donnel said, realizing what Ragna was getting at.

"It works both ways, like with you and me," Ragna explained. "If I treated you like crap because you're a commoner instead of seeing you as a friend, what kind of person would I be?"

"We're friends?" Donnel asked, a little surprised.

"Aren't we? I mean, I can understand if you're still pissed at me for being harsh with you before the fight yesterday, but we're helping each other out. I helped you get into the Shepherds and you helped me out yesterday when you killed that bandit leader."

"I guess we are," Donnel said with a smile. "Glad to have ya as a friend Ragna!"

"Ditto," Ragna said. "And as your friend, I'm going to give you a piece of advice."

"What's that?" Donnel asked.

"Fredrick's going to be training you later," Ragna warned him. "He's a good man, but his training's going to seem like hell. I'd advise that you don't eat a full meal before you train with him. You'll lose it all before training ends."

Donnel gulped audibly. "Any other advice?"

"As tempting as it is, don't attempt to half-ass any parts of your training. He's doing this for your own good and the more effort you put into this, the stronger you'll be on the battlefield."

"And no matter what happens, nev'r give up, right?" Donnel asked Ragna.

"Right, cause you've already proven you're not a quitter," Ragna said with a grin.

"Woowee! I'll train so hard they'll knight me before I go home!" Donnel said, the youth brimming with confidence.

 **Support Rank C obtained with Donnel**

* * *

*Later*

 _A Difference of Opinion_

Ragna was in his room at the Shepherd's barracks laying on his bed and reading a novel. After all he'd been through, I'd been some time since he'd been able to enjoy something as basic as a light novel. The book was an old mystery novel about a series of robberies including stolen royal sigils and a noble who was attempting to solve the mystery in order to clear the name of his betrothed. Ragna knew if he focused the facts even he could probably come up with an answer, but honestly he was just here to enjoy the ride.

At that moment there was a loud knock at the door. Ragna sighed as closed the book. He'd just gotten to one of the more exciting parts and now was being interrupted. He opened the door revealing Virion on the other side.

"The time is upon us my friend!" he said with a haughty attitude. "I, your caring and close friend Virion, shall show you the finer parts of life in Ylisse and show you the art of relaxation!"

 ** _SLAM! Click!_**

"N-Now Ragna, was it really necessary to close the door in my face? You even locked it."

"I'm already relaxing with a book, leave me alone." Ragna was about to walk back to his bed before Virion said something that made him pause.

"I've already talked to Chrom and he thinks spending some time out on town would be great for you. He even said that I have full authority to bring you with me if it came to that, especially since he's talked to you about having a break over a dozen times now."

" **You're** going to try to take me in by force?" Ragna asked with a laugh. "What, did you a thousand hired mercenaries armed to the teeth and ready with rope to drag me off? I hope for your sake you're not paying them until the jobs done." Ragna laid down on the bed knowing that he'd won.

"I don't need to," Virion said with his own haughty tone. "You've already put Chrom in somewhat of a bad mood due to your little scuffle with Robin earlier. Do you really want to blow this off and put him in an even worse mood?"

"Like I care," Ragna said as he opened the book, trying to find where he'd left off.

"Well, after letting Chrom know and putting him an even worse mood I could tell him about you and Lissa in SouthTown," Virion threatened.

"…This isn't a formal thing, right?" Ragna asked hopefully as he opened the door.

"Your normal coat should be sufficient enough, though it pales in comparison to my stylish clothing and charms," Virion said with a haughty smile

"Whatever, let's go," Ragna said as he passed by Virion and proceeded to leave Shepherds barracks with the archer in tow. "So, what exactly did you have planned?"

"I do know a location in the nobility district that you're sure to enjoy," Virion told him. "You and I will be able to chat, woo the fairer sex, and enjoy a few drinks as brothers in all but blood."

 _'I'd never thought I'd think this, but I'd actually prefer Jin as a brother to this guy.'_ "You know, you could have just told me that we're going out to a bar from the start, I'd have gone along much simpler."

"Well… it's not exactly a bar, much better in fact. And it's high on the rise with Nobility across the continent. I've been to this type of establishment many times myself."

"You're scaring me," Ragna said as he began sweating. "But what the hell, lead the way."

*Later*

"Okay, where the hell are we?" Ragna demanded as he and Virion stood in a restaurant type building with lavish rugs, polished tables, and expensive chandeliers. That part wasn't what was worrying Ragna, what he was REALLY worried about was the fact that all of the people there had at least one girl on each arm and they seemed to be shamelessly flirting like crazy.

"My dear friend," Virion said to him. "This is what is known as a Hostess Bar. These fine establishment allow the men of nobility to enjoy a small drink, chat with the lady folk, and for once in their life ignore the hardships that come with being a noble. The perfect place to destress, wouldn't you think?"

"No, I don't!" Ragna yelled. "Look, can we try finding somewhere else to go?"

"My, my, and here I thought that you were fierce, but when faced with talking to women and enjoying a drink or two of alcohol."

"One of these days Virion," Ragna threatened darkly. "One of these days…"

 **Support Rank B Obtained with Virion**

* * *

*Later- Around 6PM*

The two had just exited the hostess bar. Ragna had resolved not to have more than one drink and he'd stuck with that successfully. Virion had also managed to drink in moderation, but he looked at Ragna like he was fairly hurt.

"Look, if you've got a problem with something, just say it," Ragna demanded as Virion continued to stare at him.

"I'm just somewhat… surprised. I honestly brought you along because I thought that your rugged and standoffish appearance would make me seem even better in comparison, but it seems you've hogged all of the attention for yourself."

"Hey, I didn't hog anything!" Ragna retorted. "If anything, I kept to myself!"

"So you say while your face has no less than six spots of lipstick on it," Virion said with a sigh.

"Really?" Ragna said as he proceeded to wipe his face with his jacket sleeve. "I thought I managed to get most of it off."

"You did," Virion said to him emotionlessly.

"Look, as far as I'm concerned this never happened. If anyone asks we'll just tell them that we hit up a tavern and had a few drinks as friends. Alright?"

"Very well," Virion agreed, somewhat relieved that his reputation as the greatest of ladies men would not be undermined. "By the way, Lady Emmeryn wanted to speak with you after we were done with our little outing. She apparently wished to talk with you about something."

"Thanks for letting me know, see you Virion," Ragna said as he headed off for the palace. It didn't take him long to arrive since he'd already been in the nobility district. When he got to the front gate he talked to one of the castle guards. "The Exalt had wanted to talk to me about something."

"Right this way," the guard said as he lead Ragna inside and took him to the familiar room that he'd had tea in earlier. "I'll let her grace know that you're here… but you may want to wash up before then."

 _'Wash up?'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'What the hell is he talking about?'_

 _Tea with the Exalt II_

Within a few minutes the Exalt entered the room with a soft smile as always. "Hello Ragna."

"Emmeryn," Ragna said returning the smile. "Good to see you again."

"It's good to see you as well, the tea will be here in a few minutes. But I was hoping that we could get our business taken care of early so we could talk as friends."

"Sounds good, I take it Chrom already gave you the report?"

"He did," Emmeryn told him. "It seems that you've gotten quite a few new members on you travels. I'm glad to see that you've reached out to several people on your travels."

"To be honest I didn't really have a say in most of them, but the more people we have to help us, the better."

"We can certainly agree there, but how did Robin seem to adjust to the job of assistant tactician?"

"She's… talented. Even though I had other things that I needed to accomplish in the heat of battle, she was able to take over without any problems. And when the two of us worked together we were unstoppable."

"That's good to hear, I'm glad that having assistant is working so well for you. How was Chrom able to fare?"

"In combat he was able to handle an entire horde of Risen by himself. His lady skills however…" Remembering the trouble Ragna had given him before they'd arrived back at the capital. "It needs work… a LOT of work."

"Very unlike you it seems," Emmeryn said, looking at the Reaper that Ragna never thought he'd see her give, a distasteful scorn.

"…I still have lipstick on my face don't I?" Ragna asked. The Exalt merely nodded. "Damn it, and here I thought that I'd gotten all of it." Ragna tried to wipe off the stuff, but he then noticed that Emmeryn looked like she was expecting an explanation. "Virion forced me to go with him to a hostess club in the noble's district."

"And you enjoyed yourself there," Emmeryn summarized, her expression not disappearing.

"NO! I was assaulted by the employees!" Ragna defended. It was then that the tea arrived. The maid simply put the tea set on the table before leaving. "But enough about me, how have things been going on your end?"

"Poorly I'm afraid…" Emmeryn sighed. "Promise me you won't tell Chrom about this."

"Promise me you'll forget the fact that I came in here covered in lipstick and you've got a deal."

"Covered in what?" Emmeryn asked innocently.

"Won't tell a soul," Ragna assured. "Now, what's the problem?"

"Marriage," Emmeryn said.

"Oh?" Ragna said, genuinely interested. "Who proposed? Some arrogant noble I'm guessing. Probably a pervert too."

"No, not like that. The council is pressing me to take a husband in order to continue the lineage of the crown."

Ragna took a long sip of his tea before putting the cup back on the saucer. "No matter where I go, what world I'm in, I constantly get pissed off by politics. How hard was the council pressing?"

"Currently their developing a list of suitors that I can start seeing them and start deciding," Emmeryn informed. "Things could be worse, but I'm not going to be able to ignore their wishes forever."

"Let me guess, you haven't found anyone in the nobility that you're crazy about."

"It's worse than that, many of the nobles of our kingdom would actually want the war with Plegia. If I were to marry any of those men I'd essential being giving the crown to a war monger."

"Sadly I don't think we're going to be able to avoid this war," Ragna told the Exalt. "We've been lucky that we haven't been attacked yet, but it could be worse." Ragna looked at Emmeryn with respect. "I get the feeling that the peacekeeper has the more important job as opposed to a war hero."

"I'd agree with that," Emmeryn told him. "But I'm going to need you to try and stay non-aggressive. We should be getting reinforcements tomorrow."

"That's something to be grateful for I suppose," Ragna said as he stood upwards. "Thanks for the tea, I'm going to get going."

"Stay safe, and Ragna?"

"Yes?"

"Stay out of the hostess bars."

"No arguing with you."

 **Support Rank B obtained with Emmeryn**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Author's Note: Just another support conversation chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Ciao.**


	14. A Friend in Need

**VERY IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**

 **Hey guys, one announcement before I begin this (very) delayed story. First off to the non-followers or people without Fanfiction accounts, I'll be moving this story on Wednesday to the crossover section, making this an Official BlazBlue x Fire Emblem story. To find this story easy, just go to either the Fire Emblem or BlazBlue crossover section and hit 'view all cross-overs' or head to my profile page and bookmark the damn thing. Anyways, enjoy!**

 _Chapter XIV: A Friend in Need_

Ragna was fast asleep in his bedroom the following morning after meeting with the Exalt. Despite being rushed off his feet for most of the day, he'd decided to search around the castle library for books on strategy, which he did find. Using them he'd tried his hand at creating his own strategies, but he'd quickly realized that he was falling short on making sure he had everything covered. In the end he'd decided to call it a night and ask Robin in the morning for help, but it'd been so late that he hadn't gotten much sleep. Guess who got to wake him this time?

 _GET A MOVE ON!_

" **GET YOUR ARSE UP**!" Ragna immediately jumped out of bed and got up with a very startled expression on his face. His body had gone on auto mode so he hadn't realized what he was doing, but then he saw who'd yelled at him.

"Damn it Sully!" he shouted at his _friend_. "Why the hell did you have to wake me up like that?!"

"We've got trouble, and it ain't good," Sully told him with a scorn on her face. "We just got word that Plegia's attacked Themis."

"So they've started the war," Ragna said with a groan as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Wait, did they declare it or is this worse than I thought?"

"It's pig shit bad!" Sully shouted at him with one of her curses thrown in for emphasis. "Plegia ain't claiming what they did and they dragged Maribelle across the border claiming she invaded after bandits attacked!"

"Wait, what!?" Ragna's drowsiness was completely gone, replaced with his growing rage. "You're saying that they're blaming us for ATTACKING them!? Damn it, where are Chrom and the others?"

"Chrom's busy getting everyone's arse in gear and Emmeryn's gettin' ready for a peace talk with Plegia's arsehole of a king," Sully tone suddenly lost some of its earlier rage. I've got a bad feeling about this, poor Maribelle."

"Do you two got back?" Ragna asked as he quickly gathered all of the tactician's gear how could find in his room.

"All of the Shepherds do," Sully told him. "A lot of us have been friends since we needed a grown-up to wipe our arses, but Lissa's probably taking it the hardest. Maribelle's always been there for her and now she's worried we won't be able to help Maribelle now that she needs her."

"Then do me a favor, tell Lissa that I said that no matter what happens today, we're getting her back safely. That's a promise I'll die to keep."

"Tch, damn hypocrite," Sully said in annoyance, despite there being a smirk on her face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ragna asked as he stopped packing for a moment.

"You always tell us that you won't give up and you ain't gonna let anyone die, but you never seem to think about yourself idiot! The rest of us have always felt that way about each other and I'm sure a lot of people here would die before they saw you kick the bucket. I'm on that little list there. You ain't dying while I can wield a lance! And when I can't I'll trample anyone who tries to mess with you!"

Ragna was silent for a moment as he pondered Sully's words. "What are the requirements for becoming a knight anyway?"

"Huh? What the hell's with that question?"

"I'm just thinking it must be tough if you haven't reached it yet. You're one hell of a woman and you've proven you're practically meant for knighthood."

"Damn straight," Sully attested. "Now enough with the sweet talk! We've gotta get a move on!"

"I'm just saying. Anyways, be sure to tell Lissa that everything's going to be all right today, okay?"

"Yeah sure, I'll let her know," Sully promised him as she left.

 **Support Rank B Obtain with Sully**

Ragna made his way into the palace and he could already see that people were in a mad rush to get everything ready for the Exalts departure. As Ragna was in a mad dash to find Chrom, he eventually ran into Robin who was just finishing up a conversation with Phila.

 _Siblings_

"Where are we at?" Ragna asked as he walked up alongside Robin as she was making her way off elsewhere.

"Phila and I just finished getting everything ready for protecting our villages from another attack, but I need to find Chrom so we can discuss the trip to the meeting point on the border. It shouldn't be that long of a trip, half a day at most, but there could be several Plegian bandits on the road."

"That was pretty quick, how long have you been here?"

"Since yesterday," Robin told him as they continued to speed walk past several maids. "I was trying to get some work done on strategies late last night, and I accidently fell asleep in your office. Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry," Ragna said as he finally figured something so obvious out. He quickly reached inside his trunk and got out what he needed, not stopping his pace. "Here take these. They're strategies I was working on last night, but I'm missing something in each of them. They'll help you get started at least."

"Started with what?"

"You're going to be taking over my job for now," Ragna told her. Seeing Robin start to protest he held up his hand. "Look, I've been doing my best with these books, but I'm not the one that should be doing this. I'm the guy who's always in the frontlines taking down a dozen troops at a time, not the guy who's organizing our troops or making sure everyone's in position. You've got a talent for this stuff Robin, I need you to do this for me."

"But why?" Robin asked as she followed Ragna closely behind. "You just said I was your assistant a week ago, why are you asking me to do this now?"

"I told you about my promise I've made right? No one dies under my watch," Robin nodded. "Well I need everyone in the right place, and I can't give commands easily when I'm on the frontlines. You, on the other hand are a pretty accomplished mage, better than me actually. You can stay back and continue to fight and you've got a better grasp of tactics than I do."

"So you're giving up?" Robin decided to ask. "I could help you with tactics Ragna, it's what my job's for anyways. You're not out of this yet."

"I know Robin, I know," Ragna told her. "Look, I NEED you to be tactician for today, alright? I need you guys to keep up appearances while I take care of finding Maribelle and getting her out of harm's way. I can't be giving orders while I'm doing that, so I need you to do it for me."

"Okay, I get it," Robin told him. "If you really want me to take your job I will, but always know it'll still be waiting for you if you change your mind."

"I understand, and thanks," Ragna said as he continued to hurry to the throne room.

"Hey, anything for my big brother," Robin assured him.

"Excuse me?" Ragna asked, a little startled with what Robin just called him.

"Well you certainly act like an older brother, and you've been looking out for me since I've got here. You even gave me a name, somewhere to go, and a reason," Robin told him. "As far as I'm concerned, you're the closest thing I have to family right now."

"I guess," Ragna said as he continued walking. "Just... don't do anything rash, okay?"

"Ragna we're about to go into a war zone, I don't think we can-"

"Promise me," Ragna said as he looked Robin dead in the eyes. The look he was giving was one he'd only used very few times before, a pleading one. He was begging Robin to stay safe.

"All right, I promise," Robin told him. "Just promise me you'll do the same."

"Deal," Ragna said as they continued walking. _'I already lost one sister before... I had to kill her with my own hands... I'm not going through that hell again... I'm making sure Robin lives through this...'_

 **Support Rank B Obtained with Robin**

The two silver heads made their way into the room where Emmeryn and Chrom were waiting for them. Chrom seemed to have an annoyed expression on his face, which Ragna could understand considering what they were about to go through.

"How are preparations for the journey?" Robin asked.

"As good as can be expected for this," Chrom admitted. Noticing Ragna narrowing his eyes at the young prince, Chrom decided to reassure his friend. "I'll play the part, don't worry. We're trying to get Maribelle out of here alive, not start a war with Gangrel."

"Remember that," Ragna said in a low tone. It wasn't a reminder now so much as a threat. He knew Maribelle was Chrom's friend, but he couldn't have Chrom put anything at risk today.

"Do you have a plan to get her back?" Chrom asked.

"If talking doesn't work I'll be ready, but I'm probably going to need a way to get close to them," Ragna told him. "He might have heard of me by now, so if I'm not there he could expect something and threaten Maribelle for it."

"Not sure how we're going to pull this off," Chrom admitted to his friend. "Maybe we could-"

"Hey, I could help!" a young voice shouted from the hallway. Ragna turned and saw what appeared to be an eleven year old, wearing blue mage robes similar to Mariel's and a wizard cap. "I have a way to make what you need."

"Ricken?" Chrom voiced in confusion. "What are you doing here? I thought you were still studying magic."

"Hey, I've practiced a lot since last time," the youth told him. "You're going to want my help if we're rescuing Maribelle. I can make sure no one knows that Ragna's gone."

"Well, we're going to need everyone's help we can get," Robin told Chrom. Noticing the prince's continued reluctance, Robin tried to reassure him. "Chrom, I'll keep Rick back with Mariel and myself. He won't be in any danger and we'll have a better mage unit this way."

"Fine..." Chrom admitted. "So what's your big idea Ricken?"

"Well it's like this..."

 _TimeSkip The Plegia-Ylisse Border_

Emmeryn approached the meeting place with her close guard consisting of Ragna, Robin, Chrom, Fredrick, Lissa, Miriel, and Ricken.

"Well now, is this the current Exalt of Ylisse?" sounded a voice the somehow managed to be both rough and shrill. Standing on the cliff edge was a man in a gaudy attire with pale grey skin and a strange crooked sword. Standing behind him was a woman with darkened skin who wore an outfit that was both regal and very revealing. "I'm not sure whether I should look away out of awe or spit in disgust... Maybe spit then look away HAHA!"

 _'_ _Okay, he's clearly psycho...'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'_ _Damn it, where's Maribelle?'_

"King Gangrel..." Emmeryn said to the king. "I hope that we're willing to come to terms about our current situation."

"Oh I'm certainly at terms. At terms that you're current pointing the fingers at Plegia! And for what? Defending ourselves from a self-righteous harlot with a umbrella club. For shame your highness, for shame."

"Maribelle is not harlot!" Lissa shouted.

"Oh, and he I was told that Ylisse took their politics very seriously," the woman said as she looked upon Lissa with a mocking gaze. "I guess that must not be true if they're letting children represent them."

"It almost seems proper Aversa!" Gangrel cried out gleeful. "Send an immature brat to represent a nation of them!"

"Enough!" Chrom yelled, trying to stop the Plegia's from raising his anger and making him rash. "Where's Maribelle?"

"Ah yes, the girl," Gangrel said as he motioned with his fingers. One of his burley, bearskin clad soldiers roughly forced a hand bound Maribelle to the cliff's edge. "And now that we're on equal proper speaking terms, I think now's a good time to talk about our demands."

' _Bastard,'_ Ragna thought as the soldier left with their political prisoner, the woman known as Aversa following closely behind. _'_ _I can't make my move yet, but I'll have to soon enough. What the hell's his game anyways?'_

"What is it that you wish?" Emmeryn asked. Ragna could easily tell that she was trying to remain calm and peaceful, despite her friend being threatened by the monster in front of her.

"Aw, you don't know? What I want is the _Fire Emblem!_ " Gangrel shouted. Seeing Emmeryn's startled reaction he let out a shrill laugh. "Oh, I certainly know of it! The power to grant your innermost desires? How can that be kept by the people who so badly slaughtered my own people!"

 _'_ _He's gotta be lying,'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'_ _Then again, Chrom said that the last tactician wasn't fondly remembered, could this be why?'_

"You have two options!" Gangrel shouted at the top of his lungs. "You can either give me the emblem I want right here and now or you can make me pry it from your cold, dead, well manicured fingers!" As soon as he finished shouting that several warriors ran forward with axes ready.

Chrom roared as he brought out falchion and cut through one of the warriors with ease. "Take another step and you'll join him in hell!"

"So glad to see that you're looking forward to the war you just started!" Gangrel shouted with a laugh. "Commander Orton, I leave these freaks in your capable hands!" A loud bestial roar was heard over the cliffs. "And with that, I bid you Ylissian's farewell!"

One of the warriors yelled as he threw his axe at Ragna. The Reaper made no motion to dodge it as the ax hit him... well passed through him. Both warrior were struck with awe before they were struck with spells from Miriel and Ricken.

"Well I guess our synchronized magic mirage worked," Ricken said. "Let's hope that Ragna's in position."

"He will be, don't worry," Chrom told his short friend. "Shepherds! Get ready! Let's teach these Plegians what it means to start a war with us!"

 _Meanwhile_

Aversa smirked as she looked at the bound Nobel in front of her, a group of soldiers standing behind her. "It seems like you're responsible for starting a war, one that could very well result in the destruction of Ylisse. How does that make you feel?" Maribelle said nothing. "Hmph. Bring her with us, she's going back to the base."

"Hopefully for a little fun!" the man holding Maribelle bindings said with a dirty sneer. Maribelle let a shriek as her breasts were violently groped, resulting in some of the soldiers to cheer. "We've been waiting to get some of her since we bagged her!"

"Don't count on it," Aversa said to the man with a glare. "We have these little things in our army, they're called _standards_."

"Right," the man said with a fairly disappointed look as Aversa turned her back to leave. Once he was sure his commanding officer wasn't looking, he forced Maribelle closer to him and sensually grabbed her neck. "I don't care what she says," he whispered roughly in Maribelle ear. "When we get out of here, you're _mine._ "

"Hands to yourself," came a voice that the warrior didn't recognize. In the next instant he was blasted off his feet with a fatal wind spell. Despite her closeness to the target and the casters inexperice in spells, Ragna's precise aim left Maribelle unaffected by the blast of wind. Maribelle let out a gasp as her red coated savior landed in front of her. Even Aversa was caught off guard. "Who's next?"

"You are bastard!" one of the warrior yelled as he and his comrades rushed the Reaper.

Ragna gave a smirk as he unleashed a massive slash with _Blood-Scythe_ , cleaving three warrior in half like he was cutting paper. Another warrior tried to attack with his ax, Ragna blocked to move with his sword before blasting his opponent in the chest with his fist, destroying his heart and causing him to crumple. The last one was then cut down by another slash from Ragna. Out of the corner of his eye, Ragna noticed Aversa charging a spell. This one appeared to different than those he encountered, instead of reflecting an element, this one appeared to made of pure darkness.

"Face Grima's wrath!" Aversa shouted as she fired the blast which resulted in a blast of darkness. If Ragna dodged the attack it'd probably hurt Maribelle, but he wasn't sure if blocking it with _Blood-Scythe_ would nullify it completely. A crazy idea formed in his mind as he instead brought his _BlazBlue_ in front of the spell, resulting in the dark attack becoming completely absorbed. "How did you-!?"

Ragna then channeled the energy he'd absorbed into his sword before unleashing a massive slash darkness. Aversa felt herself get blast with her own spell as she let out a scream and fell to the floor, not moving.

 **Ability Learned:** _Magic Reversal LV1:_ With this ability, Ragna can absorb a dark spell into his _BlazBlue,_ and then unleash it back on his opponent. The stronger the spell, the more dark energy this requires. When this skill levels up through use, Ragna then gains the ability to reverse more elements of spells, or to reverse them at a lower cost.

"You alright?" Ragna asked as he turned to Maribelle.

"I'm f-fine," Maribelle told him shakily. She knew it was always mandatory for a lady to retain her stature, even in a crisis like this, but the nightmarish thought of being raped by those hooligans had scared her badly.

"You're going to hate me for this," Ragna said to her as he reset _Blood-Scythe_ , before Maribelle could question him, he picked the young Nobel up... and of course it had to be a bridal-style carry. "Hang on," he warned.

"What are you-!?" Maribelle demanded, her face flushed crimson. Ragna then broke into a quick sprint, the steep and jagged terrain didn't seem to be slowing him down.

"Getting you out of here, I promised Lissa I'd get you out of here or die trying and if I carried you on my back you'd get hit by an archer or something." Maribelle said nothing as Ragna continued to sprint. "Hope Robin and the others are managing okay without me."

 **Meanwhile**

"Hold the line! Hold the damn line!"

"We're getting overrun! What the hell are they!?"

"We're surrounded on the left flank! They have us cornered!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"COWARDS!" Orton shouted. "I'll personally see that whoever leaves is executed for-!" The commander's eyes grey wide as he noticed a wind spell coming right for him. "DAMMIT!" he shouted as he was blasted off of his wyvern and fell a long drop to his death. His remaining soldiers retreated after that, the Shepherds let them go having spilled enough blood.

"Good shot with the captain, Ricken," Chrom said to the young mage. Ricken gave an beaming smile for being praised by his role model. "And of course your strategy was impeccable, Robin. I think Ragna's happy to have you."

"About that..." Robin was about to inform Chrom what Ragna had said to her in the hallway when Lissa ran over to them.

"Have you guys seen Maribelle yet?" she asked frantically. "Ragna should've been back by now."

"Try not to worry Lissa," Chrom told his little sister. "I'm sure that Ragna wouldn't let anything happen to her."

"Yeah, but..."

"Lissa!" the princess turned as she was approached by none other than Maribelle and Ragna.

"See?" Chrom told her. "She's fine." As Lissa went over to embrace her friend Chrom turned to his elder sister. "It looks like Gangrel's gotten the war he wanted."

"I was afraid that'd be the case," Emmeryn told her brother with a sigh as Ragna approached the two. "I'm afraid there was naught we could do about it. We'd best head back to Ylisstol before more soldiers come after us."

"Yeah," Ragna agreed with him. "First off though I've got something I've got to check. Start heading back without me, I'll catch up."

"I'm not letting you go alone," Chrom said to the Reaper.

"Won't be long," Ragna said, ignoring the prince's refusal as he took off in a sprint.

"Why do I ever think he'll listen to me?" Chrom asked with a groan. He rolled his eyes when Emmeryn gave a small giggle.

 **Elsewhere**

"I figured," Ragna said from where he knelt as he felt Aversa's body. His hand was on her neck as it gave a slow, steady pulse. "Looks like I just knocked her out, but it doesn't look like anyone's about to come back for her. Maybe they don't know she's gone?" Ragna then picked up the sorceresses. "I guess I'll have to bring her back with the Shepherds. With a little luck I might be able to get some answers about Gangrel and what he's got planned... Things are gonna be pretty complicated now."

 **Author's Note: I don't own anything.**

 **Sorry that this is a shorter chapter, I just wanted to do this so I could get the message out and you were reassured that I wasn't abandoning this fic (which I never will). This was probably my worst chapter from the story thusfar, be assured it's going to be getting MUCH better from here, I just had a hard time writing in this event.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **The Shard of Flame Ice: Thanks for the additional advice and correcting my mistake about Ylisse's haildom. While I think Emmeryn would still hold most of the power, her so-called 'husband' might be able to sway the people into a war anyhow. Thanks for a long and good review.**

 **Dread: Two behemoths of darkness fighting each other. Hmm... Someone get a JAEGER!**

 **ad: I always enjoy the bonding, for now it's the highlight of the story.**

 **IdeaPerson1097: Not sure how I'm going to deal with Emm dying... JK I totally have an idea. You'll just have to wait and see though.**

 **warrior of six blades: Ragna hasn't punch Virion yet, just for the sole purpose that he's already wounded his pride enough as it is.**

 **animeandgamerlover2: Thanks.**

 **BloodedgetheReaper2113: Tiki will come in futher down the line unless someone has an idea that can bring Tiki here in the first arc.**

 **Guest (1): Looks like Nu may have a competitor for Yandere goddess.**

 **Guest (2): No kid pairings, but I will give each of the second gen ladies an S-Rank 'What if?' convo with Ragna.**

 **black sun 123: Stop calling him Ragna the Pimpedge! That name brings up the wrong kinds of ideas...**

 **animeandgamerlover2 and Darklight of the 0 arcana: Sadly no, Elphelt's going to be the only OC.**

 **Guest (3) and Helspawn007: This is the most popular pairing, but I'm not sure if this is the one I'm going to use.**

 **guest (4): Update here :-)**

 **kaizero6: We'll see...**

 **See you guys around! Check out my other crossover story 'A Reaper's Game if you haven't yet! You won't be disappointed (in my opinion anyways) Ciao!**


	15. Deviating From the Script

_**Chapter XIV: Deviating from the Script**_

Ragna leaned against the wall in the castle dungeon, his arms crossed and his eyes closed, appearing to be deep in thought. When he'd first entered the dungeon he'd thought to encounter several prisoners and criminals, most of them probably bandits or Plegians posing as bandits, but aside from Aversa it was empty.

"How long do you plan to keep standing there?" He heard Aversa question from her cell. "If you're trying to intimidate me, you'd handle it better if you were swinging that giant sword of yours at me."

"I'm just on guard duty, that's all," Ragna said back. "That and I can at least get some peace and quiet here."

"Oh, quite the celebrity are we?" Aversa asked with a hint of whimsy in her tone. If Ragna's eyes were opened he would've rolled them. "I suppose you're quite popular with the ladies then?"

"...Not intentionally," Ragna admitted, briefly thinking back to his time with Virion at a hostess bar. In that next moment his _Azure Grimoire_ gave of a small spark of yellow lightning. "I guess that's progress."

"Practicing magic while on guard duty?" Aversa asked curiously. "I hope for Ylisse's sake you aren't an elite caster because that spell looked awful."

"Who asked you?" Ragna bit back.

"Well _I_ think it would be easier to learn how to cast a spell if you had its tome to learn the spell and draw energy from. Casting without it is immensely more difficult, especially when first learning it."

"Reading those things only give me a headache," Ragna told her. "I'm much better at feeling stuff out and learning as I go." After thinking about what he'd said for a moment he blushed slightly. "That came out a little wrong."

"Or very right," Aversa said with a playful smirk smirk. "But I'm curious to why you're not torturing me for information. Do the Ylissian's think they're higher than any form of interrogation?"

"No clue," Ragna admitted. "But I do know that like you I have standards; I'm not torturing you, I'm reminding you that the sooner you start talking the sooner you can leave."

"Leave?" Aversa asked curiously. "You'd actually let me go. My how chivalrous, but for nothing I'm afraid. Torture me, use me, do whatever you want with me, I'll never talk."

"You're really that loyal to Plegia?" Ragna asked, a little surprised with her behavior.

"Not to Plegia, but to someone in Plegia," Aversa told him ominously. "But I've said enough, too much actually."

"In that case get ready for a long stay in here," Ragna said before Kellam came in through the open door to relieve him of guard duty. Ragna got off of the wall and proceeding towards the dungeon exit. "Just remember I'm the one keeping the one that'll be keeping you away from the chopping block. You DO NOT want to cross me."

"Noted," Aversa said, apparently bored with the situation. Ragna decided he'd just let things sit with her and hope that she saw reason sooner rather than later. He'd already heard from Chrom that a few members of Ylisse's nobility wanted to execute Aversa immediately to show authority, but at least for now Emmeryn was able to keep them calm. This meant Aversa was probably on a clock, and while Ragna didn't owe her anything, something about killing her just felt wrong to him.

Back in her cell Aversa glanced around curiously. ' _Why in Grima's name is he leaving me here by myself? I'd thought he'd have posted a guard at least.'_

 _ **Castle Corridors**_

 _ **HELP! (I need somebody!)**_

"Hey Ragna!" The Reaper turned and saw the blue haired prince rushing towards him. He seemed to be blushing and moving pretty awkwardly.

"Alright, what did you say to Robin this time?" Ragna sighed.

"I-I didn't say anything to her," Chrom defended not looking Ragna in the eye.

"Then why do you look like you just saw a specter?" Ragna pried further, crossing his arms to look authoritative.

"Don't you mean Gho-?"

" _Specter,_ " Ragna hissed in demand. "Seriously, what the hell happened?"

"Well I was trying to find Robin because I needed to go over some of our march plans for tomorrow with her, but I couldn't find her anywhere. So I asked one of the maids about her and they told me where to find her. I eventually found the room she was currently in and tried talking to her through the door. I couldn't hear her that well, but I thought she told me I could go in and then I realized…" Chrom couldn't even look at Ragna's face. "She was in one of the bathing rooms."

Ragna buried his face in one of his palms at Chrom's mistake, his eyes closed in both an irritation and disbelief. "Dammit Chrom," he groaned. "Tell me that you didn't just run away and leave her."

"Of course I didn't," Chrom assured. "I waited for Robin to finish and talked with her after that about our travel route and apologized. But gods! I've never felt so awkward in my life. I could barely look at her, and when I tried say goodbye I fumbled for a full minute! If she'd tried to attack me I don't know what I'd do!"

"Damn, you seem pretty shaken," Ragna observed. "But why the hell are you coming to me?"

"Because I heard Robin called you her brother once on the road. I figured if I told you now, you wouldn't want to kill me when you found out. Also, maybe you could help somehow?"

"I still think I should kill you," Ragna said with his eyes narrowed. "I'd be putting you out of your misery." Chrom was beginning to think it was a mistake coming to him for help. "But I really think you should just try to talk to Robin like it never happened. If she can put this whole mess behind her, you should to."

"I know, but I still feel so awkward," Chrom told him. "Maybe I'd at least feel less guilty if I gave her something small, maybe as an apology."

"Bad idea," Ragna told him. "You do that and she'll just think you're hitting on her after seeing her naked. I say just keep talking to her, it'll take some effort, but you'll both get over it... Eventually."

"I guess you're right," Chrom relented. "By the way, she also told me that you'd given up your job as a tactician."

"Got a problem with it?" Ragna asked.

"I just don't think it's fair to Robin. I was alright giving her a job as your assistant because it was what she wanted, but the full responsibilities of being a tacticians could be too much for her." Chrom sighed. "I know that Robin can handle herself, I just don't want her to get overwhelmed."

"She'll be fine," Ragna told him. "She's better than I am at it and I'll be giving it everything I've got on the frontlines. I'm as worried about her as you are, but she if she's tactician she won't be at the frontlines as often, but will still contribute. I'm trying to save everyone here so we can't afford to coddle her, she'd never go for it."

"As long as you're sure about it," Chrom told him. "By the way, can you meet Robin and I in the castle gardens tonight? there's something I think the two of you deserve to know."

"About what Gangrel said?" Ragna asked, thinking about when the Mad King had accused Ylisse of causing a war-turned-slaughter.

"Yeah," Chrom said, a slightly darker look in his eyes. "See you Ragna."

' _What's up that story?'_ Ragna thought to himself as Chrom headed down a different hallway. The Reaper shook his head. ' _Whatever, I don't need to rush him. He'll tell me when he's ready.'_

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Chrom**_

 _ **Repayment**_

"Damn, it's only mid afternoon but with all of the marching I've done I'm starting to get tired," Ragna muttered to himself. "Maybe I should grab some coffee, that might help."

"I'd advise against that," Ragna heard a familiar voice behind him say. He turned and saw Maribelle, with her parasol as always.

"Oh, hey Maribelle," Ragna said to her. "What's wrong with having coffee now?"

"It's mid evening, if you were to have coffee now you'd be unable to get a proper night's sleep. If you want to give yourself an extra spring to your step, the most I'd recommend having is some light tea. That should be enough to tide you over for now."

"Tea huh?" Ragna repeated. "All right, maybe I'll grab some from the kitchen."

"Actually I have a fresh pot already made. I was going to share it with Lissa, but she keeps insisting that she needs to practice with her healing staves. It's a crime in my opinion to let good tea go waste, but I wouldn't be able to finish the entire pot myself."

"Alight, why not?" Ragna shrugged. "As long as you don't think you're wasting it on me."

"Then let us depart," Maribelle said with the smallest of smiles as she lead Ragna down a few hallways and into a waiting room where the fresh pot of tea lay waiting. The two took their seats at the table and Marrible poured Ragna a cup.

"I'd like to thank you for earlier today Ragna," Maribelle said to the Reaper. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd shudder to think what those… beasts would be doing to me now."

"If you want to thank someone, go thank Ricken, he was the one who helped us with the plan to get you out of there."

"Yes, I know that and I've give Ricken and the others my thanks, but you've still been a mystery to me." Maribelle handed Ragna the full cup which the Reaper accepted. "You've done quite a bit for Emmeryn, Chrom, and of course Lissa, but I still can't determine your reasons."

"Does it really matter?" Ragna asked as he took a small sip of his tea. It was good, better than the kind he'd had with Emmeryn, but it still paled in comparison to Rachel's.

"Since you're now a fellow Shepherd and seem to be spending a lot of time around Lissa, I think it's my business to know," Maribelle said with the flames of determination in her eyes. "So Ragna, care to explain your grand agenda in all of this?"

"Honestly I don't have a single thing planned out," Ragna told her. "I just got caught up in everything when I saw SouthTown on fire. Before that I was just planning on letting Chrom question me and exploring around myself, but now I'm in the middle of a war."

"A war that you have no part of," Maribelle said. "Lissa told me on the road back about your origins, and while I'm with slight unease of working with a former revolutionary, I suppose you may have been the hero of your world."

"Nothing close to that," Ragna told her. "I was just the lesser of two evils."

"So you say," Maribelle said, sipping some more of her tea and swooning somewhat. "My, I'd heard great things about this tea, but it's certainly something else appreciating it yourself! Wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess?" Ragna said with uncertainty. "It's pretty good…"

" _Pretty Good,_ you say? This tea is supposed to be the height of its kind; the cream of the crop, the greatest paragon, and you tell me you think it's merely alright?" Marrible gave Ragna a haunting glare, but then turned it into a triumphant smirk. "I suppose this means that you've had better then?"

' _Uh-oh.'_ "N-No, that's not what I meant," Ragna said, trying to get out of what seemed like a dangerous situation. "I guess I just can't appreciate tea. I mean I rarely drink the stuff, you can probably tell the difference between good tea and great." Ragna took another sip of his tea and tried his best to fake surprise. "Woah! Now that I get a second taste of this tea, it's really something else! Wonder how I couldn't have-?"

"Ragna, cease your sub-par acting," Maribelle ordered. ' _Busted.'_ "So tell me, what's wrong with this tea then?"

"I'm probably not the best person to be asking, but if I had to pick something I'd say they focused too much on the taste."

'But is that not the reason for creating fine tea?" Maribelle questioned in curiosity. "To create exotic new blends and amazing flavors to share with the world?"

"I'm just saying there's a little too much taste there, it feels like I'm drinking warm juice."

"Warm… juice," Maribelle repeated in curiosity before tasting her tea on more and staring at the cup. "I suppose you do have a point, the sweetness is very present and the texture and feeling of the tea does not appear to be present."

' _Isn't texture and feeling basically the same thing?'_ Ragna thought to himself.

"You've surprised me Ragna, who would've thought you could be a connoisseur for fine tea? I suppose you have a hidden talent."

"It's not really a talent," Ragna muttered. "I just said what I thought about the tea."

"Perhaps this talent could be applied to other uses," Maribelle said with a determined smile that made Ragna involuntarily shiver. "This tea and several other drinks going to be presented at a tasting event for the nobility once the war is over. I've been formally invited, but I'm afraid I lack the an escort. Perhaps you could fill the role?"

"Pass, I have a tendency to get violent around nobility," Ragna said, remembering the noble he'd beaten into the ceiling back in Regna Ferox.

"Yes, I've heard about your little duel from Lissa and I've heard whispers of the rumors spread by Virion." Ragna grunted in annoyance. "But perhaps this event could teach you how to conduct yourself better around the nobility."

"So I save a lady by beating the crap outta the guy who was harassing her and suddenly I'm an double S class criminal again. Freaking great."

"I was implying nothing of the sort," Maribelle assured him. "I only meant that perhaps if you spent some more time of nobility we might dissolve some of the aggression you have towards them. We're not all the rude and uncaring monsters that you seem to associate with, you get along fine with me don't you?"

"That's different," Ragna told her as he took another sip of tea. "You're a Shepherd so I'll give you the benefit of doubt."

" _Benefit of doubt?_ "I suppose I'll just have to change your opinion of me. Just know that I will not condone any ill behavior from you, especially around Lissa."

"Don't worry you won't get any trouble from me," Ragna assured her. ' _Wonder what the big deal is with her and Lissa?'_

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Maribelle**_

 _ **That Night**_

Ragna headed with toward Ylisse's castle gardens with Robin, the two deeply curious what Chrom would have to say to them both. Robin didn't really seem to mind the fact that they were going to see Chrom, so Ragna took that as a sign that she was willing to put their earlier 'encounter' aside.

The two found Chrom outside in the gardens, staring up at the night sky and appearing to be deep in thought. There were very few clouds in above, leaving the bright moon and sparkling stars above almost completely exposed. Despite the magnificent view, Ragna couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong here.

After a few minutes, Chrom finally realized that Ragna and Robin present. "Thanks for coming both of you," he told them, feeling slightly more confident now that he wasn't talking to Robin alone. "How are preparations?"

"Things are looking pretty good, we'll be ready to make the trip to Regna Ferox tomorrow. Let's hope we can get the troops we need without much issue." In the short time that she'd taken over Ragna's former position Robin had changed. Now she spoke with more authority while retaining her familiar personality, leaving Ragna wondering why he hadn't put her in charge sooner.

"Good work, but there's something that you both need to know," Chrom said to them. "Gangrel may be a coward and a madman of a king, but not everything he said yesterday was a lie. The slaughter he talked about Ylisse inflicting on his own kingdom… that was real."

Neither Ragna nor Robin said anything, they simply waited for Chrom to continue.

"My father, the former exalt of Ylisse, he headed the slaughter. He turned it into a Holy War, a crusade. After one of the bloodiest battles this continent had witnessed, both armies were clearly decimated with less than a quarter of their forces remaining. But the fighting did not stop there, farmers were forced to take up arms and be sent to the suicidal fighting, both sides experience unheard carnage and barren fields."

"Why the hell did it go on for so long?" Ragna asked. "Didn't your d- Didn't the last Exalt know the hell he was causing? Why on earth was this going on for so long?"

"I don't really know," Chrom said honestly. "I didn't know either of my parents for long, my mother caught the plague not long after she gave birth to Lissa and my father died while he was away on his crusade. I remember my father being a very proud king, and at times very stubborn. But…"

"But what?" Robin asked.

Chrom took a deep breath. "There was also his war tactician, one of his most trusted friends and advisors. They'd met a short time before my father ascended to the throne and from I'm told they became fast friends. I'd only met him once so I don't remember too much about him, but… he terrified me. Something about his eyes was just plain unsettling."

"So that's what you meant when you told us that Ylisse's last tactician was a total dick," Ragna said. "What happened to him anyways?"

"From what I'm told he died in the fighting along with my father. As much as I hate to say it, my father's death was what ended the war. But with the king and queen both dead, Ylisse needed a new Exalt and the duty laid to Emmeryn."

"And after her father died they blamed her," Robin guessed sadly.

"They did, often throwing at her terrible insults… and stone. But everything she did, she did for the people. She brought the troops home, she ended the war, she managed to stabilize Ylisse's welfare. And when the people 'forgave' her? She never held it against them."

"Damn…" Ragna basically summed everything up with that.

"So now you know the blood on Ylisse's hands. But know that we NEED Emmeryn. She's the very center of our kingdom and its greatest chance for peace. Gangrel will stop and nothing to end her life and the peace we've fought for, but I'll never let him. If need be I'll stop him myself."

"Well said," came a voice that Ragna didn't recognize. The figure however was Marth, the swordmaster from the Regna Ferox tournament.

"Marth…" Chrom noted before a thought struck him. "Wait, how did you get in here?"

"The hole in wall covered by vines," the enigma told Chrom. "Do not fear, I've covered it and will not tell a soul about it."

"G-good to know," Chrom said, a little unnerved. "But why are you here?"

"I come with a warning; on that will affect the very foundation of Ylisse."

"Care to tell us a little more lady?" Ragna said, catching everyone off guard.

"Ragna!" Chrom scolded. "That's demeaning! You shouldn't-!"

"It's not an insult, I'm just calling her what she is." Chrom and Robin still seemed confused. "You really didn't know?"

"What makes you think I'm a girl?" 'Marth' asked.

"Dress up as much as you want, wear that damn mask to help, it doesn't really matter. I can tell a lot about a person by their aura or soul, and yours says female."

"... Impressive." 'Marth' took off her mask revealing a much more feminine one beneath. "Apparently you're the only one I hadn't fooled. But we've little time to discuss my gender, not when the Exalt is to be attacked tonight and if we don't hurry, killed."

"What!?" Chrom exclaimed. "There's no way she could be, not when she's under guard at all hours!"

"...What if I told you that I'd seen the future?" she asked ominously.

"Impossible!" Chrom shouted. "There's now way anyone can-"

"Actually I've traveled through time once already where I'm from," Ragna told them, yet again surprising everyone present, 'Marth' included. "But about Emmeryn…"

Almost too fast to see Ragna took out _Blood-Scythe_ and rushed towards 'Marth'. The enigma tried to go for her sword, but as Ragna's rush took him past her she stopped. From out of the bushes, two assassin's emerged with blades ready, but were quickly cut down with a single swing from Ragna.

"... she wasn't lying," Ragna finished darkly. "Get the Shepherd's ready, I'm going to see if there are any more of these freaks in the gardens." Chrom's expression hardened as he nodded to Ragna and ran back into the courtyard with Robin and the fake Marth. Ragna then turned his attention to the foliage. "You might as well come out, I can tell where you all are; the tree branches in the back, behind the bushes in the center, and skirting around the statues. Come on! Show a little originality at least."

The assassins emerged from the foliage, all fifteen of them with blade or bow drawn. Ragna smirked to himself. Only fifteen. He'd been hoping that there'd been more to give him a better challenge.

"Let's get this over with," Ragna said before noticing another presence, this one very… unusual. "Hm?"

Out of one of the garden entrances a giant creature burst forth and slammed into a few assassins, crushing them. Ragna watched in surprise as giant… bunny proceeded to claw three more assassins. Getting over his momentary confusion Ragna charged forward and cut down more assassins. The creature didn't seem to spread its aggression onto Ragna and the two finished off the remaining assassins very quickly.

"Well that happened," Ragna said to himself as he reset his sword. "Did I get them all?"

" _Difficult to tell, the stench of human blood is heavy._ "

"Holy shit!" Ragna yelled in surprise as he faced the giant rabbit. "You can talk?"

" _Of course I can,_ " the creature said as it faintly glowed. It shrunk and changed form until it became a woman with tanned skin, bunny ears with sprouted from her brown hair, and wore purple tinged leather. Ragna could also tell she had a bunny tail. "Do NOT insult my kind's intelligence man spawn."

"Your kind's? Sorry, I'm a little slow on the uptake, but who and what the hell are you?"

"You don't know of my race," the woman said. "Typical man-spawn, constantly forgetting the atrocities they'd committed. They probably never even told you about us as a child, did they?"

"Okay, the whole atrocities speech I can agree on, but I'm not from anywhere around here so I wouldn't know about you. Anyways, can this wait? There've got to be more of these freaks inside and I need to make sure everyone's doing okay without me."

"Very well then, lead on man spawn," the woman said.

"Enough with the man spawn crap, it's demeaning. Just call me Ragna," the Reaper said as the two ran towards the inner castle. "What do I call you anyways?"

"I am the last of the Tagual," the woman said.

"And your name?"

"You expect me to give it to you?"

"Hey, I gave you mine didn't I?" Ragna really didn't get what her deal was, but now wasn't the time to ask questions.

"...Panne."

'Panne, huh? Nice name," Ragna said, trying to act a little friendly. "Look, just stay close to me so everyone knows you're not with the assassins."

"If I must," Panne said seriously.

 _ **Meanwhile**_

There were soldiers everywhere in the hallways and the Shepherds were forced to face only a few of assassins at a time… though most of the assassins were shocked out of all of the times they were hitting ' _invisible walls...'_ Kallem wasn't really sure whether to feel proud or offended that Robin's strategy was using him like this.

Vaike was currently back to back with Lon'qu as several warriors surrounded the two. To any other fighters this might've seemed like a sign that they were about to die, but they'd both been through much worse than this.

"Bet I can put down more of these jerks than you can," Vaike said cockily as he blocked a warrior's axe with his own.

"You really think you can outdo me?" Lon'qu asked, an eyebrow raised as he took down the warrior Vaike had left open. "In my experience cockiness and foolishness goes hand in hand."

"Well in my experience the Vaike never loses!" Vaike said as he leapt into the air before bringing his axe down on an enemy soldier. "Come on, I've got a good bottle of grog for ya back at the barracks if you win. I win and you have to admit you're my squire. So what do you say?"

"Five," Lon'qu said ominously. Vaike started the swordsman for a moment, before Lon'qu cut down a thief with his katana (look I know it's called a Killer Edge, but I stand by the traditional name). "Six." Lon'qu then clashed blades with an opposing swordsman before disarming him and giving him a fatal slash across the chest. "Seven." A group of three warriors charged at Lon'qu; the Feroxi swordsman gave a single slash in a wide arc. "Ten." Noticing Vaike speechless he gave a small smirk. "Try to keep up." He then ran off.

"Show off," Vaike muttered to himself.

Chrom was defending the door to Emmeryn's room with the woman bearing the name of the hero king. The resemblance between their swords and fighting styles was uncanny, but Chrom didn't have the time to question it when he was fighting for his sister's sake.

"Well that wave's taken care of," Chrom said glancing around. Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted a faint red glow, an enemy mage charging a spell from behind a corner. "Look out!"

It was too late, the mage sprung from behind the pillar to blast the two blue heads with a powerful Arcfire spell. Chrom would've died if an orange haired thief hadn't sprung from behind another pillar and cut down the mage.

"That was a little too close for comfort," the thief said, though he acted more bored than anything. He took a… lollipop? Well, he took one out of his pocket and stuck the sweet in his mouth.

"What the hell are you doing?" Chrom asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Picking a different side; wanted to rob this place dry, but my boss never said anything about murdering the Exalt."

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Chrom asked still unconvinced.

"If it wasn't for him we would've died," Marth told him. "I say we at least hear him out."

"Boss man's assassin are mostly coming in from the west garden, but he's probably at the south entrance guiding most of the troops. You take him down, we've got an easy win after that. And for the record, call me Gaius."

"Fine," Chrom relented. "I'll listen to what you have to say for now, but don't think that I fully trust you just yet."

"Hey no worries I'm already used to this," Gaius assured. "Comes with the trade."

 _ **Meanwhile**_

"This is all wrong," Validar said to himself. "How could they have known that we were coming? Did that old fool warn them? I'd thought we'd scared him into submission properly."

"Sir!" one of the assassin's called as he approached Validar. "The battle goes poorly. We've already lost over half of our forces without inflicting so much as a single casualty to the other side."

"Hmph, it seems that she'd learned some things in my absence," Validar spoke, mostly to himself again. "What of Aversa, have you found her?"

"We've located the dungeon and the Shepherds appear to be focused on saving the Exalt. We could retrieve her, but I doubt that we'd escape."

"Regardless, that is where we are going," Validar told him. "Rally a small strike force, we're leaving immediately."

"...Very well," the assassin told him. He knew that his chances of escaping if he followed were almost none, but they were still better than his chances of survival if he crossed one of the greatest sorcerers in the age.

Validar's strike force moved through the capital, largely unaffected by the Shepherd's. The occasion castle guard group they came across was easily defeated by Validar's fire tome. Soon they'd made it to the entrance to the lower dungeons.

"Stand guard here, I'll return soon enough," Validar commanded as he walked down the steps.

 _ **The Dungeon**_

Aversa continued to sit in her dungeon cell and wait as the she only faintly caught the sounds of fighting coming from above. She stirred slightly as she heard the guards rustle in apparent confusion and turned her head just in time to see them blasted by fire magic. Standing in the hallway was her apparent savior.

"Lord Validar!" Aversa said in surprise. "I didn't know that you were heading the attack."

"The king made it quite clear that this was the day Ylisse would feel unspeakable anguish, so it was only natural that he would send me," Validar told her cockily as he stroked his beard. "But I have to say, I'm rather disappointed that you were captured when we declared war on the kingdom."

"Words cannot describe my own disappointment at my own failure," Aversa told him, holding her head in shame. "Rest assured, I will make Ylisse pay for this insult. Let me out of this cell and I'll show you."

"Let you out?" Validar said, his very smile brought a chill down Aversa's spine. "Now why would I do that child? You seem to be perfectly content there."

"But-!" Aversa tried to argue before screaming in pain as Validar's fireball struck her. The spell would have killed anyone else, but Aversa's resistance she'd acquired during her own magic training kept her alive.

"I have no use for failures," Validar said as he continued his onslaught, casting fireball after fireball at the contained Aversa."I only came her to silence your mouth you wench! I can't have you ruining it for me!"

"But I'd have never talked!" Aversa screamed as she clutched her body in pain. The attacks did not cease. "Please stop! Father!"

With that Validar did stop for a moment, then his smile turned sadistic and he let out an evil laugh. "Father!? Oh you poor misguided fool! You really haven't realized it yet?! My enchantments on you have worn off long ago, yet you don't remember!? I KILLED YOUR PARENTS AND BURNED YOUR HOME TO THE GROUND!"

Despair filled Aversa's eyes, the pain that the spells were causing her were nothing compared to the pain of hearing the betrayal. "w...what?"

"You had potential, I could tell," Validar said as he charged a final fire spell in his hand. "I couldn't let someone like that rot away in a useless outlands town like yours, so I decided to make you my personal tool. Altering your memories with magic was easy, especially for a stupid, naive, immature girl like yourself." The spell glowed with enough power to give the entire dungeon a violent red hue. "BUT NOW YOU'VE OUTLIVED YOUR USE! **DIE!** "

Validar violent flung his arm and sent out a massive column of fire at Averas. The betrayed soul closed her tear filled eyes and waited for oblivion to take her. Just as the spell came close to her spell bars, a giant mass of shadows appeared in front of her and took the attack for her, both magics disappearing after contact.

"WHAT!?" Validar cried out in surprised rage. He then turned his head as heard slow steps enter the dungeon room. Aversa stared at the man who'd come to her apparent rescuer, and he did not seem happy

(Cue BlazBlue Continuum Shift's _Nightmare Fiction_ )

"So… you burned down her home… you took away from her the only family she ever had… and you used her like a _puppet_ …" A black aura coated Ragna's body. "You kind of remind me of someone I used to know… But now..." His right arm turned into a claw of darkness. " _ **I'M GOING TO DO TO YOU WHAT I DID TO HIM YOU BASTARD!**_ "

Validar swung his arm again and sent out another fireball at Ragna, the Grim Reaper struck it with his claw and dispersed it immediately. He then rushed towards the sorcerer, who sent out a wave of fire to keep him at bay. Ragna easily dodged the attack by dashing to the side before rushing at Validar. As a desperate strike, Validar sent out a quick fire ball spell. Ragna took the hit on his shoulder, but all it did was slightly deter his strike so his arm wouldn't impale Validar as the sorcerer jumped back to avoid. He did manage to impale the fire tome however.

"Damn you!" Validar shouted as retreated backward. Ragna's claw remained impaled through the tome of fire, but the dark energy he was giving off was more than enough to tear it apart.

"You're weaponless," Ragna informed with a dark tone as he stood between Validar and Aversa, who was staring at the fight. "I'd tell you give up, but I'm not about to let a single trace of you get out of here."

"How disgraceful," Validar said as he brought out a black tome from the folds of his clothing. "I never wished that I would have to use my most sacred treasure, but you leave me little choice." He became surrounded in an aura of purple flame. "You'll know what it means to defy Grima!"

"...Who?" Ragna asked cocking his head to side. "That supposed to be someone important?" Despite the seriousness of the situation, the look of disbelief on Validar's face could be described as comical before it turned to rage.

"Insolent fool! Die!" Validar sent out blast of purple flames at Ragna. The Reaper merely sidestepped the attack, but he noticed Validar had vanished.

"Above you!" he heard Aversa warn him. Ragna barely managed to dodge the attack that Validar had sent from above. The sorcerer teleported to the ground level and sent another burst of purple flames, this one directed towards Aversa. Ragna clawed through the attack causing it to disperse before rushing Validar once more.

Validar used the purple flames as a shield to defend himself against Ragna's claw, but the Reaper's onslaught of attacks was too much for him. He teleported as Ragna's claws stabbed through the spot he'd been. Aversa watched as he reappeared behind Ragna, a powerful spell already charged. She tried to shout out a warning to him, but it was too late. Validar swung his arm to cast a spell for the final time, but lurched forward halfway through as pain erupted through his chest. He pitifully looked down and saw that Ragna had seen through the attack and had impaled his torso with his claws.

(End theme)

"You… fool," Valadir said, violently coughing up blood. "I serve… a far greater purpose… one which you could never understand…" He looked at Ragna with hateful eyes. "Lord… Grima… he will reward us in our afterlife… it is you... who's been damned…"

"Yeah, well guess what?" Ragna's arm erupted darkness causing shadows from below to stirk the sorcerer countless times. After Ragna crushed the remains and absorbed his soul, there was nothing left. "No afterlife for you…"

Ragna heard Aversa's sobs from her cell. Turning his head he saw that she was a mess, while her skin had only been mildly burned despite the ferocity of the attacks, she'd just been betrayed by the person she'd given everything for and been told that he'd killed her really family so he could use her.

Ragna shook his head as he headed back up the stairs to the battle which was still raging. Before he exited completely he spoke to Aversa over his shoulder. "Hey." Her sobs lightened, only slightly, so Ragna gave her a clear warning.

"... _Don't end up like me._ "

 **Author's Note: I don't own BlazBlue or Fire Emblem.**

 **Let me just answer the BIG question on everyone's mind.** _ **What happened to Validar and is he coming back like in the game?**_ **The answer is he's not... ever.**

 **Surprised? Well with Ragna basically eating his entire soul and destroying the body, I think it makes sense for him to be gone for good. Did I just dig myself in a big plot hole with that? Yes… yes I did. (But I can still work with this, I'm a writer after all).**

 **Anyways, BEFORE I get into the review commentary, let me tell you about this little announcement I have. This story and my other crossover, 'A Reaper's Game' are pretty much my biggest stories on here. I feel that I owe you fans something as a way of making my stories this successful... (Raises champagne glass) So here's to you. (Drinks)**

 _ **Just another moment**_

Ragna sighed to himself as he laid in the fields a few miles away from the Shepherd's barracks. His recent fight with Validar hadn't been his hardest, but it was still one of his more unnerving fights. When he'd heard the mad man's story of how he'd kidnapped and used Aversa as a child he was reminded of his past with Yuki Terumi.

Though Validar had been more refined than Terumi's chaotic urges, sadism and methodical brutality was found in ample supplies in both. Both had people that they'd screwed over and used, and to be honest Ragna thought the world was that much better without them.

"Ragna?"

The Reaper recognized that voice very easily. He opened his eyes and turned his head to the woman who'd addressed him.

"Oh, hey Noel. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that the rest of the Shepherds are almost done preparing dinner, I came to get you so you wouldn't miss it."

"Right," Ragna said as he yawned and got up. "Well thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome, but what were you doing out here anyways?"

"Just dwelling on some crap from before all of this," Ragna told her as they started walking back. "How'd you know where I was anyways?"

"I saw you walking out of the barracks earlier," Noel told him with a small smile. "Just lucky I guess."

"Well you seem to be taking all of this pretty well," Ragna noted aloud. He'd found Noel just a few days ago, but unlike Elphelt her guns seemed to be working. "But something's been bothering me for a while now. Why the heck did you try following me?"

"I…" Noel looked a little guilty. "I didn't at first… when you beat Terumi the cauldron just died after you fell in. So I stayed in our old world for a while. But a few days later I checked out the cauldron and it suddenly activated in front of me. So I…"

"You jumped right in without a second thought didn't you?" Ragna asked. Noel nodded. "Idiot, what if it had been a trap? What if someone was trying to keep you in the boundary for good?"

"I knew the risks," Noel said, a little sad. "But I wanted to find you… I owed you that much."

"Dummy…" Ragna muttered. "You don't owe me anything. We've helped each other out in the past right? That should've been enough. You've still got people worrying about you back home."

"I- I know but…" Noel said, looking like she was on the verge of tears. It didn't take a scientist to know this little equation: Noel+Tears=Ragna feeling like a total ass.

' _Great job Ragna, Noel gives up everything by trying to help you and you make her cry AGAIN._ ' Ragna sighed to himself before suddenly stopping and kneeling in front of Noel with his back turned to her.

"Ragna?" Noel asked before Ragna's arms wrapped around each of her legs. That alone made Noel blush, but then Ragna stood and Noel was forced to throw her arms around his neck to avoid falling backwards.

"Hold on tight," Ragna said before taking off into a sprint. Noel screamed at first as he ran with her clinging to him in a piggyback, but eventually her screams turned to laughter as the wind wrapped around them both. When they were only a good half mile away from the barracks, Ragna slowed to walk.

"Feeling better?" he asked, Noel couldn't see that he was smirking.

"A lot, yeah," Noel said happily. "I could've used a bit of a warning though."

"Would've ruined it," Ragna told her. "Sometimes you just got take things as they come, you don't really get much of a choice of what comes your way, you just live with it. Try to make the most of it, even if it seems like total pain."

"I guess you have experience with that," Noel said with a small giggle. "So are you telling me to live the moment?"

"I guess…" Ragna said before coming to a stop. "Ready to get down?"

"Nope!" Noel said without hesitation.

"Good I'll… wait what?"

"I think my moment can last a little longer," Noel said cheerfully. "Come on, you only have half mile before we get back to the barracks. _Pleeeeeeease Ragna?_ "

"Tch, fine," Ragna grumbled. "You're a real handful sometimes, you know that?"

"And you're not?" Noel asked with a giggle as she ruffled Ragna's hair with her hand.

Ragna chuckled. "Fair enough Noel, fair enough."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtain with Noel Vermillion**_

 **I present to you the first of many Omake's for the series. The character's won't be going into the actual story, but I will let all of the girls go to S rank with Ragna. (Except Tsubaki, but she's already preggers with Jin's kid).**

 **In a Reaper's Game it'll be more of a thing of doing random quirky shorts with the characters (expect chaos). Now for the review comments (which I got a lot of… YAY!)**

 **Greyjebi449t & Astrefernal: Welp, here's the next chapter.**

 **Warrior of six blades: Well Robin and Ragna will still get their S rank, but I suppose I've dug myself a bit of a hole there… Ah, I'll work it out.**

 **BloodedgetheReaper2113: Who is this** _ **Lucina**_ **you speak of? (She hasn't really seen too much of him yet, but she'll react sooner or later.)**

 **Animeandgamerlover2 & funnyman & Guest: Thanks for the vote of confidence guys.**

 **The Shard of Flame Ice: All good advice that I'm happy to get. And Yuno vs Nu would make an interesting fight… nah, Nu would dominate.**

 **Donkike07: An interesting multi pairing idea, maybe I'll do an Omake dedicated to that pairing or something.**

 **Guest 3: Chocolate huh? ...Leave the double entendres to Nu please.**

 **Black sun 123: Bonus chapter S rank, and it can still happen in cannon (depending on my mood).**

 **Shirosaki Kizuro: Well Ragna is a pretty badass character, even for Shounen standards.**

 **Joker-ZX: I heard that somewhere else too… kind of crazy. I guess that means that the power is always coming from Ragna and the arm is just a slightly matured medium for his powers.**

 **Nitrus7: Well part of her anyways, I just brought a different version of her here.**

 **Dread Grim Reaper: Happy B-day indeed.**

 **Chaos-Sableye: Thank you.**

 **Guest 4: I took your advice for him meeting Lucina, so thanks for that. Also I think pairings are still up for a final decision.**

 **Kaizero6: Right here.**

 **Stellar-Sanctum: Thing is, I have yet to start on Fates, but I might make a story for that someday… I dunno, maybe put Sol Badguy in there just to shake things up.**

 **Thanks for all the support, you guys are great! Ciao!**


	16. Darkness Rising

Validar (coughing blood as he's impaled by Ragna's _Devoured by Darkness_ claw): You fool… you cannot kill me… I have... plot armor…

Ragna: I have a BlazBlue; plot armor means shit.

Validar: ...Grima... damn it... *Shadow tendrils emerge from the ground and obliterate him*

 _ **Author's Note: … Ladies and Gentlemen. I give you… the WINNER of the Poll! As I am typing this chapter I've closed the poll and am tallying the final results. I'm HOPING that I got all of the votes in the comments and reviews, but it's a little hard to be sure since my reviews function was acting a bit screwy at the time of the vote.**_

 _ **In the end though it matters only a little, the number of votes for this story was overwhelming (which I might or might not have expected), but what was most shocking was the number of people that voted, and THAT… well, let's me just say thank you. Close to a HUNDRED AND FIFTY votes? I couldn't believe the support, so thank you.**_

 _ **Stories, in order of placement**_

 _ **1st with 66 votes: A Reaper's Awakening (A massive lead!)**_

 _ **2nd with 25 votes: A Reaper's Game (It was close… for the first couple of days)**_

 _ **3rd with 12 votes: Loss, Redemption, Revenge (Here comes a new Arc!)**_

 _ **4th with 11 votes: The Grim Reaper and The Beastkin (Squirrel Power!)**_

 _ **5th with 10 votes: Azure Guilt (I wonder how many people voted for this just because of the Ragna and Sol Badguy questionnaire)**_

 _ **6th with 6 votes: Azure Throne (It's been a while since I've updated this one, so it's not very surprising)**_

 _ **7th with 5 votes: A Reaper's Soul (Being the newest story I guess it was predictable that it would end up with the lowest number of votes, hopefully you still enjoy it!)**_

 _ **In mildly related news three things, the order of updates will be following the number in the placement above (with Reaper's Awaken updated every other time as agreed). Second, the bonus support Omake will be at the end of the chapter and the review responses. And finally a query that I'd like feedback on which will also be promoted at the end of the chapter.**_

 _ **Chapter XV: Darkness Rising**_

After Validar's fall, the rest of the assassins soon followed, thanks in no small part to the orange haired thief that had changed sides, or the brown haired bunny beast that had joined the battle earlier. Ragna himself had needed to contribute very little after slaying the mad sorcerer. The Shepherds had tried to take some of the assassins as prisoners for questioning, but they'd all taken their own lives before they could with absolutely terrified looks in their eyes.

Currently, Ragna was leaning against the corridor wall with his arms crossed as Robin, Chrom, and the Exalt talked. He was catching bits and tidbits, apparently talking about their next move, which for all he could tell was taking Emmeryn somewhere safer. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the blue haired woman who identified herself only as 'Marth' leave out the doorway. Seeing as he wasn't needed here, Ragna followed.

There weren't any guard outside in the courtyards, so Ragna decided to make himself known. "Little early to be leaving, isn't it?" As soon as he said it, the woman immediately drew her sword and point it at Ragna, standing ready. "Calm down, it's only me."

"That's what worries me, who are you?" she asked with a tone of both authority and hostility as she kept her hand on the blade that looked very much like Chrom's.

"You're asking me? If anything you I should be the one asking that," Ragna told her, a bit peeved.

"You're not supposed to be here, I've never heard of you!" Marth said, keeping her distance with Ragna. "Even in the future I've never been told about you… so what are you?"

"I guess you can just say I'm a poor sucker that got pulled into this mess," Ragna told her. "Thing is I'm used to this sort of thing already, so I'm able to cope with this mess."

"That's all?" she asked. "For all I know you could be a servant of Grima!"

' _There's that name again,'_ Ragna thought to himself. "I don't know anything about what the hell this Grima thing is, all I know is that the freak in robes I just offed was saying something about it."

"Robed… Could it have been the leader of the assassins?"

"That was him, just caught him trying to kill his own daughter… well his own deceived daughter anyways. So do you trust me now?"

"No I don't," she told him. "I don't know a thing about you."

"Figures…" Ragna groaned. "Alright then, follow me."

"What? Why?" Marth said in confusion, still keeping her sword drawn.

"The way is see it I can either spend all night talking to you and trying to convince you to believe me, or I can fight you once and I can show you what I mean. _Take your pick_."

Marth was silent to herself for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Very well, but let's move this fight to somewhere more private. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea."

"Good idea, lead on mystery woman," Ragna grunted as the two left the courtyard, leaving through a small hole in the castle wall that Lucina had used to get in. ' _How the heck did she know where this was? If not even the guards knew this was, I won't believe that she found it by pure luck. She knew this was already here, she knew about the attack on the castle, not to mention all this talk about time travel... so just who the hell is she?'_

"You don't seem very sure of yourself right now," Marth said to him. "Having second thoughts of convincing me on your position?"

"No, just trying to figure out who the hell you are," Ragna said as they came to an open field. He walked faster so that he was 20 feet ahead of the mystery woman. "This'll do here, any further and Chrom will start wondering where I am."

"Very well," the azure haired woman said as she brought her sword out of its sheath and brought it into a ready stance. Seeing her now as he brought out his own sword, Ragna could definitely see a resemblance between her fighting style and Chrom's. The swords being so similar only pushed that matter further.

The moon was full and shone down brightly on the two warriors, illuminating them both perfectly. A short breeze passed through, cause small waves in Ragna's hair and sending Marth's cape fluttering. The two kept their eyes on each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

The enigma shifted her blade, causing the moonlight to reflect off the metal into Ragna's eyes. At the Reaper's grimace, she lunged forward with her sword slashing the air where Ragna would've been had he not stepped back at the last moment.

"Kind of a low attack," Ragna grunted before blocking a second attack. "I thought I was supposed to convince you."

"A warrior always battles with all she has, I've never forgotten that lesson since I've been tasked with stopping Grima!" She then danced to Ragna's side and stabbing. He deflected the attack again, before sending a wide slash and sending his opponent leaping back.

"Everything huh? Then try this!" Ragna shouted as she sent a slim wave of darkness towards the woman. She barely had time to bring her sword up in time to block the attack, and skidded back slightly.

"That power… such darkness…" she said before bringing her sword up again as Ragna went on the offensive. Marth deflected the attack aiming for her left side before bring her blade down on Ragna's head, which he blocked putting the two in a stalemate. "This is Grima's power! A dark god's power!"

"NO!" Ragna shouted as he forced her back. "This is my power!" He then allowed his arm to glow with dark energy. " _ **Hell's Fang!**_ " he shouted as he rushed forward with to strike his opponent. The blue swordswoman managed to block the attack with her blade, and Ragna felt his arm and eye start to go numb with the contact. ' _Gah, what the hell? It's been a while since I killed my last Risen, but I shouldn't be losing it this quickly.'_ Ragna quickly pulled his arm back, while back stepping to avoid his opponent's repost. ' _Must be the sword then, so I gotta end this quick.'_

As Marth rushed forward with a lunge, Ragna swung _Blood-Scythe_ upward to deflect the the attack momentarily getting Marth off balance. Ragna then spun his entire body and disarmed her of the Falchion look-alike, which impaled itself into the ground. As she gasped in surprise he brought his sword down and stopped it an inch from her face.

"If I was serious I wouldn't have stopped," Ragna threatened before noticing the woman's right eye. "Wait… that mark, Chrom has one, and Emm. You're royalty aren't you?" He took his sword away from the woman. "Damn it, and I thought your soul just told me you weren't a man."

"You… you saw my eye?" Marth said as she slowly backed away.

"Yeah I did, no wonder you wore that mask," Ragna said as he reset his sword. "And you said you saw the future so…" he scratched the back of his head. "I guess that makes Chrom your what? Father? Grandfather? Something along those lines?" Marth cringed slightly. "Well whatever, I won't pry." Ragna turned and started to head off.

"Wait," Marth said, causing Ragna to pause. "If you don't even have a place here why are you helping the Shepherds? Why are you fighting with them?"

"Because," Ragna said, taking a deep breath. "I won't abandon anyone, especially not my friends. Running away is something I've never been good at."

"I see…" Marth said as he took Falchion out of the ground and swung it twice to remove the dirt from the blade. She then sheathed the sword. "I'm afraid I don't know your name though."

"But you won't give me yours," Ragna argued back. "Whatever, call me Ragna; Ragna the Bloodedge."

"I'll remember that name, but how will I know that you won't tell everyone my secret?"

"It's why it's called _trust,_ " Ragna grunted. "Just don't get yourself killed with whatever the hell you're doing, all right? I've had a pretty good run of having to manage shit since I got here, I don't want you to end it."

"I won't fall because I can't afford to," Marth said sadly. "I've already lost everyone I could possibly care about, I can't let that happen again here."

"...Then you got my support," Ragna told her, suprising her slightly. "I know you can't come with me, but if something comes up let me know. I can't make any promises, but at least I'm good in a fight."

"...Very well," Marth said, seeming slightly more at ease. "Until next time, Ragna the Bloodedge."

"Yeah well, later _Marth_ ," Ragna said with a smirk as the two parted ways.

On his trip back to the castle, Ragna's arm became increasingly numb and harder to move. He had to take a considerable amount of effort just to keep his right eye open and his vision on that side was already starting to become further blurred.

' _Guess that sword actually managed to kill most of the energy I had left,'_ Ragna thought in annoyance. ' _Might be able to resist something like that with time, but for now I better check in with Chrom and the others to find out what's going on. After that happens I can try going Risen hunting._ ' While walking down the hallways and passing by several soldiers, he instead found Emmeryn, sitting by herself, looking outside her window.

"You alright?" Ragna asked standing casually by the window.

"I...I'm not sure," Emmeryn told him. "Today was such a waste of life… for both sides. Several guards died trying to defend the castle and the massacre of the Plegians was something I wished we could have avoided… It seems that war is inevitable."

' _Crap, what am I supposed to say?_ ' Ragna thought to himself. "I guess it is…" ' _Seriously Ragna, THAT was the best you could come up with?'_ "But I don't think there was anything we could've done differently. Gangrel might've been acting out of revenge, but he's trying to get it from someone who died long ago."

"Chrom told you the story then?" Emmeryn asked. Ragna nodded. "So you know about our dark past… one that I'm not proud of."

"You ought to be proud of what you did," Ragna told her, further surprising the Exalt. "You went in at the worst times and managed to make things right again. If anything I'd say Chrom was right calling you peace itself."

"Ragna…"

"Hey, I know things look like shit now, but have a little faith. The rest of the Shepherd's are still alive and well and you've got an even better tactician now that Robin's taking over. We'll get through this."

Emmeryn smiled at the Reaper's reassurance. "I'll take those words to heart… thank you Ragna." Ragna gave her a small smile just before a Ylissean soldier approached the two.

"Milady, I've just come from the dungeon it seems that our prisoner, Aversa, is ready to speak. However, she has an… odd request. She demands that she only talk to, ahem, the man in a blood red coat."

"This thing's more crimson than blood red," Ragna muttered as he looked down at his coat. "So you're sure she's ready to talk?"

"Yes sir, but are you sure you want to do this? I doubt that she's the type to be trusted."

"I'm tougher than she is and I doubt that she has any reason to keep anything from us after she was almost killed in the attack. I'll hear her out." He looked at Emmeryn. "Next time then."

"Until next time," Emmeryn nodded.

 _ **The Castle Dungeons**_

As Ragna had been told earlier once the guards caught sight of him they left the dungeon leaving only him with Aversa. Honestly, Ragna's arm was feeling more numb by the second and he needed to slay a Risen and quick. All of the energy he'd gotten a couple of days ago had already been used up while he was training himself to use magic, and while he felt confident that he could still wreak some serious shit without his powers, he wanted to make sure he was at full if he needed to he guessed it was his duty to go first chance. Plus, she'd just learned that her previous 'father' had killed her actual family and was using her. For all Ragna could tell, he was the only knew about this.

At the same time though, if Aversa had said that she was willing to talk and it she'd only see him, one who knew about Aversa's current hell, so it wasn't really a wonder why she called him. It'd only been a few hours since he'd killed Validar, that left Aversa by herself in a cold cell waiting for it. Ragna could admit to being a asshole, but even he wasn't that big of one to skip out on this.

"Hey," Ragna said simply as approached, neither softly nor unkindly. Taking the key ring off it's place on the wall he unlocked the cell door and sat down at the table in Aversa's cell, shutting the door before he did.

"You came…" Aversa noted. "I didn't think I mattered that much."

' _She's not the same person as before… Not too surprising I'm afraid._ ' "I heard that you were ready to talk, so I'm here to listen."

"...You don't seem to be sorry for me," Aversa noted again, her tone fairly emotionless.

"Feeling sorry has never suited me," Ragna told her. "Plus that shit ain't exactly the type of thing you can apologize and expect anything out of it."

"...Then what would you suggest?"

"That's up to you, not me…" Ragna said with a sigh. "But you wanted to talk, so let's hear it."

"Very well, I suppose I should start with the man you just killed. He was named Validar and was part of an order called the 'Grimleal,' a Plegian cult that awaiting the return of the Dark Dragon Grima and worships him as their god. Those creatures you call the Risen, many of the Grimleal think of them to be a part of Grima's will and power… needless to say, as Validar's daughter I was part of that... _cult_."

"Just what is Grima? I've heard his name used twice now, but I haven't a damned clue what it actually is."

"It's an ancient being of darkness, one that was thought to bring the end of the world itself. Long ago in the past, the Dragon did rise, but was defeated by the Hero King, Marth, and his many followers."

"So they're what? Trying to resurrect it or something?" Ragna asked trying to make sense of it.

"Not exactly, from what I can understand Grima has an immortal spirit, meaning it can never die, only be put to rest temporarily. Validar had planned to revive the Fell Dragon, but I do not know the details of this plan… he decided I was not important enough to know."

"Then let's hope they died with him," Ragna told her.

"But what I'm more concerned with is how you should prepare yourselves now. As cunning as he was, Validar would not have the ability to infiltrate the capital alone. He would have needed inside help."

"So you're saying we have a spy," Ragna groaned. "Well that's just great. You know who it could have been?"

"No, but most likely they must be the fearful type, someone who worries about their own life more than their county or even their family. They certainly won't bring the blade down themselves, but they'll give out any and all information regarding the Exalt. They don't have any ways of identifying themselves, so they'll be hard to find."

"I'll have to look for him then, we lost quite a few guards thanks to whoever's responsible. Anything else I should know about?"

"Only a warning… the woman you travel with, Robin I believe? I don't recognize her personally, but that coat that she's wearing is matches the markings of Grima. Where did you find her?"

"She was on the side of the road with amnesia," Ragna said with his eyes narrowed. "Are you calling her a spy?"

"No, just that you should keep an eye on her," Aversa told him. "If she doesn't have her memories, it's likely that someone from the Grimleal would try to use her for their own gains."

"I'll keep it in mind," Ragna assured her before standing and opening the cell door. "Come on out, you don't need to be in that cell anymore."

"So you meant what you were saying earlier," Aversa noted. "Aren't you afraid that I'd simply return to Plegia and warn them? And to further the fact, what makes you think I haven't lied?"

"Why would you? You just got betrayed by Validar right? I don't think you could stomach hiding anything about that bastard. And from I'm getting, if you went back to Plegia they could kill you on the spot. That and I can tell when people make the mistake of trying to lie to me, you're smarter than they were."

"Then what would you think I would do?" Aversa asked with a look both annoyed and disappointed. "Even if I were betrayed by Validar I'd never be welcome in Ylisse and Regna Ferox would only see me as a Plegian spy. I have nowhere to go, I suppose I should just wander the countryside and hope I can find work as a serving wench or in one of the brothels."

' _Dammit, I just can't… dammit.'_ "Well there's actually a spot open in the Shepherd's," Ragna noted. In truth he didn't really know how orientation worked, but if Chrom had trusted his judgement so far, he could afford to push it a little further. "And from what I could tell you've got magic down, so how about it?"

"...You really think they'd allow me in?" Aversa asked him. "I'm responsible for burning their towns to the ground, tearing families apart, and many more atrocities. How could you think they'd even stand me?"

"Well it might be tough at first, but the Shepherds are a more trusting group than you'd think. Heck, I came out of nowhere and they let me in with open arms. We need every person we can get and I can't just let you walk away and wallow in self pity."

"I… I don't know," Aversa said softly. "I would be fighting against my own country."

"And do you really owe them anything?" Ragna said with shrug, fighting hard to keep his right eye open. "The Grimleal betrayed you from the start and I wasn't exactly getting the sense of friendship between you and Gangrel. If you wanted a chance to get Ylisse to trust you this would be the best way. I can vouch for you, but that's only good for some much."

"Why do you even care?" Aversa asked before realizing. "After you slayed Validar you told me that I shouldn't end up like you, does that mean-?"

"Yeah, I've been somewhere similar to where you are and frankly I don't want anyone to go through the shit I went through. You've still got a shot in life, take it." While Aversa that to herself for a moment, Ragna's arm and eye gave a painful shock before becoming fully paralyzed. "Damn it."

"What's happened to your arm and eye?" Aversa asked, observing the limp limb at in curiousity.

"Ran out of juice," Ragna muttered. "I don't know the details, but for some reason my arm seems to be able to work off of the energy of the Risen I kill."

"An interesting power indeed," Aversa noted before she had her arm glow with dark purple energy. "Do you really trust me, or was everything earlier just talk?"

' _What's she planning?'_ Ragna thought to himself, before deciding he didn't really have a choice. "Go ahead."

Aversa placed her hand on Ragna's arm and slowly let her dark magic flow into it. The numbness slowly started to fade as the Reaper slowly opened his right eye. Aversa continued to let her magic flow for another moment before taking her hand off of Ragna's arm.

 _ **Ability Obtained**_ : Gift of Magic (This ability allows you to receive magic power from a mage in order to restore dark points. While all forms of magic restore power, Dark Magic works the most efficiently)

"How'd you know that would work?" Ragna asked as he flexed his BlazBlue. Sure enough, every sense of feeling was there.

"While I don't completely understand what the Risen are, it seems very likely that they contain high amount of dark magic within their bodies. It seems that your arm can function off of that power." Aversa gave Ragna a small smirk. "Darkness magic is much harder to control than elemental, so it seems that you're going to need me to recharge that arm of yours until you can learn how control magic without it."

"Seems like it," Ragna said returning her smirk with a small one. "Come on, let's go let Chrom know about this."

 _ **Meeting Room**_

"You have got to be kidding me, another one?" Chrom groaned. He was in the Meeting Room with Ragna, Aversa, Frederick (not the Sol Badguy one for once), and Robin.

"What does he mean another one?" Aversa asked, turning to Ragna.

"...I sort of have an unintentional habit of picking up people for the army," Ragna told her, a little peeved that Chrom was still making a big deal out of this. "You happen to be the fourth person."

"Wait, where does that leave me?" Robin asked in genuine curiosity.

"Number two," Ragna explained. "First was Cordelia, Second was you, Third was Elphelt, and now we have Aversa. Not too bad for assembling an army, eh?"

"I would have thought that since you gave up your position of Tactician, you'd leave the army orientation with Robin," Frederick noted with a slight glare in his eyes, not trusting Ragna as usual.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help out," Ragna said with a shrug. "So Chrom, what do you say?"

"I… If you trust her," Chrom said reluctantly. "But I'm holding you accountable Ragna, keep that in mind."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Ragna said with a mild shrug. "So what's the plan moving forward?"

"We're going to move Emmeryn to a safer location in the morning. It's owned by an old friend of ours, one who's always stayed with us since the death of our father. Don't worry, there's no chance of him being the spy, his loyalty to Ylisse and my sister mean everything to him."

"Let's hope so," Ragna said to him. "We really can't afford to have anymore surprises."

"I know," Chrom told him before letting out a loud yawn. "We need to leave in just a few hours, so get some sleep. We'll need it for tomorrow." He glared at the Reaper. "That means you too."

"Thing is I've actually got practice to do with magic, so no," Ragna told him as he left. "'Sides, four hours of sleep isn't going to do anything for me."

"Am I missing something?" Aversa whispered to Robin since the two were standing so close

"Apparently Ragna has a 'work until you drop' policy ever since he's been in the Shepherds," Robin explained. "Chrom always tries to convince him that he needs a break, but Ragna acts like getting a full night's sleep is a vacation."

"Well dedication is one thing," Aversa said as she watched Ragna depart. "He, however, seems to be possessed by something. Perhaps, his dark past…"

"How much has he told you?" Chrom asked as he'd overheard her, his eyes narrowed in slight suspicion.

"Next to nothing," Aversa told him. "Only that he doesn't want me to end up the same way he did. Has he told you about it?"

"He has," Robin admitted. "He'll tell you about it eventually, he just seems to have a lot on his mind right now."

 _ **Shepherd's Barracks**_

Before stopping in the training yards Ragna headed to his room to grab his book on magic that Emmeryn had given him. So far he'd only gotten the easier _Wind_ spell down, so he'd begun experimenting with _Fire_ and _Thunder_ spells. He'd almost gotten _Fire_ down, but _Thunder_ was a little harder. He'd seen Robin cast it with relative ease, but doing it himself was proving to be challenge.

' _Maybe if I work with this a little more I can finally manage to get these spells down and start learning dark magic from Aversa,_ ' Ragna thought to himself as he snatched the book off his nightstand and headed for the training yard. ' _If I can learn to use this without the BlazBlue, maybe I can manage to recharge this thing without needing to off Risen every chance I get._ '

Ragna went to the training yard with the tome in his hand, deciding to heed Aversa's earlier advice as using the tome to channel the energy. He opened the book to the section on fire magic and held it in his left hand, read over the passage quickly, closed his eyes, and focused on his _BlazBlue._ Almost instantaneously, a magic sigil appeared around his hand. With a swipe of his hand Ragna sent a small fireball soaring towards a training dummy and destroyed it.

 _ **Spell Learned:**_ _Fire_ The attack mimics the spell of its name, however it requires a specific amount of dark energy. This spell can be improved to _Elthunder_ with sufficient practice.

 _Caster Partners_

"Wow, that spell was awesome!" came a young voice. Ragna turned his head and saw Ricken, looking at him from the entrance. "You had a lot of power you had behind it!"

"Thanks," Ragna said casually. "I'm still not able to cast magic to it's full potential yet, but I'm starting to get the hang of it."

"Really, that quickly? Wow, you must be a genius when it comes to using magic."

"Not even close," Ragna muttered. "Honestly, I never had the aptitude to use magic. Even after all of these years of hard work, I can't help but feel that this arm of mine is the only reason I'm alive." Ragna gave a sad sigh and smile. "Hell of life… but what are you still doing up? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Hey, don't talk down to me!" Ricken said with a glare. "How old do you think I am anyways?"

"Old enough to know that you should be in bed," Ragna said with authority as he crossed his arms.

"Then why aren't you asleep?" Ricken argued back. "You've been fighting all day too!"

"Well unlike you I'm already tall enough," Ragna said with a smirk. "Come on you don't want to be short forever?"

"Wait…" Ricken said with genuine curiosity. "Is sleep really the secret to being tall? Is that why you're so tall?"

"Huh?" Ragna stuttered in surprise. To be honest, he'd never given these things much thought. "I guess… I mean it's supposed to help. That and milk from what I was told…"

"Really, is that all it takes?" Ricken asked again.

"I don't know! You just grow! Does it really matter?"

"Well I don't want to be short my entire life," Ricken said with a sigh. "But do you think we can practice magic together? I want to make sure I'm ready when Chrom needs us."

"If you really want to, go ahead," Ragna shrugged. "But you got any advice about casting lightning magic? I'm still having trouble with it."

"Really?" Ricken said, a small twinkle in his eyes shone through when he realized that this was his chance to help. "Sure thing! What have you been having trouble with?"

"Well for one thing…"

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Ricken**_

 _ **Spell Learned:**_ _Thunder_ The attack mimics the spell of its name, however it requires a specific amount of dark energy. This spell can be improved to _Elthunder_ with sufficient practice.

 _ **Author's Note: Don't own BlazBlue or Fire Emblem.**_

 _ **Alright here's my query which I hope you guys respond to, and it's regarding the pairings. I'm not asking for opinions on certain pairings this time around, that much I'm still going to leave to myself, but rather the type of pairings. So far the four options are.**_

 _ **Ragna stays single (Not expecting anything major)**_

 _ **Ragna has a wife (Remember, I decide who it is)**_

 _ **Ragna has a harem (3-5 people about, but that's it)**_

 _ **Ragna get all the ladies**_

 _ **Go ahead and tell me your opinion and explain in the comments; this will give me some more insight on where everyone stands. And now ladies and gentlemen, for today's Omake.**_

 _You've done good kid_

Ragna fired off a bolt of lightning at a nearby target, destroying it completely. He still only had the most basic of spells to work with, but given his other uses with his _BlazBlue_ and his mastery with a sword he wasn't really in serious need of any new techniques. Still train never hurt and being too cocky had almost gotten him killed in the past, so he decided to train while he had the time.

'Burnin' the midnight oil?" Ragna heard a familiar voice ask. "I'm pretty surprised you're still going at this; you used to quit if you couldn't learn something in five minutes."

"Well I was still a kid back then Master, wasn't I?" Ragna turned to Jubei with a slight glare. "Something you need?"

"Nah, nothing like that. Just figured we could talk considering I haven't really seen much of you since I was brought here. You're always training or chatting it up with the other people… course that's actually better news than I was expecting."

"Than you were expecting? What the hell does that mean?" Ragna asked with a glare.

"C'mon Ragna, we both know that you weren't exactly the easiest guy to be around back home. Hell most people would rather talk to Hakumen and… well he's Hakumen."

"Yeah he's Hakumen, leader of the Six Heroes; I'm Ragna the Bloodedge, SS class criminal, of course they'd rather talk to him!"

"I was just sayin', though I guess you got a point. Not your fault that you're head's worth enough to buy a small country. Though the way you keep acting around the nobility, you might be on your way to becoming a wanted man all over again."

"Well I ain't the one at fault this time! Those damn noble keep going after my friends and try to screw us over in the war! They have it coming to 'em when I beat their asses in!"

"That right?" Jubei asked before allowing himself a snicker. "Heh, heh, heh."

"What's so funny cat?" Ragna asked with a snarl.

"After all this time I was expecting a change, hell I was actually coming over to say I was impressed with how well you're doing, but you're still the same piss an' vinegar kid you've always been."

"You're making it sound like I should be acting like friggen' Valkenhayn," Ragna groaned. "I'm getting along with the Shepherd's, isn't that enough?"

"I guess you got a point, but it's almost like you're obsessing over everyone getting out alive. It ain't healthy kid, it ain't healthy," Jubei said a little sad.

"But you know where I'm coming from, right master?" Ragna asked seriously.

Jubei gave a small smirk. "That I do Ragna, that I do. So how about a quick match? We can see just how far you've actually come."

"Okay, bring it on," Ragna said with a cocky smirk as he brought out _Blood-Scythe_.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Jubei**_

 _ **If you thought I was gonna go with Jin next… NOPE! Anyways, review responses.**_

 **Greyjedi449t:** Sorry about that, but I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it.

 **EternalCobra34** : Well you'll have to wait less now that the polls over.

 **Selias & Eurigos**: Thanks, I've got a few plans.

 **Warrior of six blade:** Thanks for a good and long review as always.

 **Shirosaki Kizuro** : It's not that hard to get into, a simple YouTube video should do it.

 **Laxard** : Yeah, Validar really had little point

 **White Knight of Truth** : Considering I'm writing this before CF comes out, probably not.

 **Animeandgamerlover2** : Somewhat… just somewhat.

 **Guest & adv**: Thank you.

 **Sugoxxx** : This wasn't a crossover origonally, I had it on the Fire Emblem page so I'd get more followers, but after I felt like the message was out, I moved it.

 **Dread Grim Reaper** : CF's going to be interesting, that much is certain

 **Donkike07** : I'll be sure to do those other Omake's, but for now I'm keeping it simple with Ragna and BlazBlue characters.

 **Paladin9800** : I don't hear much from you, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 **Cruel Ruin** : Poll winner!

 **Kalakuai** : No, afraid I haven't

 **Omniczar** : An interesting route, but we'll just have to see.

 **Devilmaycry407** : ...What? And no, I'm not going to incorporate characters from that game.

 **Mlpfan11** : Now.

 **Guest (2 &3)**: Thanks for the reviews.

 _ **Until next time. A Reaper's Game is up next. Ciao!**_


	17. A Pathetic Betrayal

_**Author's Prelude: HOLY. CRAP. Holy crap you guys… Now, I admit, when I sent out the questionnaire for the pairing types for this story I already didn't have much of an idea what to expect, but I would NEVER have expected the sheer volume that those responses triggered. Hell I'm getting another response as I'm writing this four weeks later.**_

 _ **In the end I reached my decision and the results were pretty clear cut. Out of all of the responses, only three people imagined Ragna ending up single, and they weren't exactly insistent on their point of view, so I really glossed over it. Everyone else however is going to get what they wanted.**_

 _ **What I mean is this, I know a lot of people want Ragna to be single instead of having a harem, due to moral or other storytelling standpoints. Others however want a Harem or Mega Harem due to the chaos and humor so I've decided…**_

 _ **BONUS CHAPTERS!**_

 _ **Let me explain, you all mean a lot to me, every last one of you. In order to keep the most number of people happy I'm going to canonically give Ragna only one wife, but seeing as how many of you want want a Harem, for a couple of chapters after he's married I'll make a few chapters of him getting a Harem like you wanted. Those of you who hate the harem idea can just avoid those chapters while the rest of you can read them. The best part? Since this story won the poll, the canon timeline won't be at a complete halt for too long, four months tops.**_

 _ **In summary; One wife for the canon, Harem bonus chapters after that. Oh, and one more thing, I tried saying it earlier, but those bonus Omakes at the end of the chapters aren't canon. Ragna's still the only BlazBlue guy in this story. Well enough with the exposition.**_

 _ **Enjoy the chapter.**_

 _Chapter XVI: A Pathetic Betrayal_

' _How much damn marching are we going to do?'_ Ragna thought to himself in slight annoyance as the Shepherds once again traveled the countryside. He realized what they were doing was for the safety of the Emmeryn, but that didn't mean that he wanted to spend hours just walking. He wanted something to fight, not just jagged mountain terrain to travel across… but maybe he needed to think this through. _'Whenever I get too hot headed I just end up getting into more trouble… let's just take it slow for now, something tells me that I'll have my chance soon enough anyways.'_

As the troops came a group of trees on the side of the mountain, Ragna felt his arm and eye pulse as they detected the nearby Risen. Ragna gave a small smirk as he realized he'd been asking for this, but at the same time it wasn't a complete loss; he'd take all of the aggression he had pent up on the Risen and try to get some practice in with his magic. He ran forward to catch up with Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, Robin, and their guide at the front.

"I'll be back in a bit," Ragna told them. "There's a group of Risen back in the trees and I want take 'em out quick."

"Surprised you're telling us," Chrom told him in response, though he didn't exactly seem to be irked by it. "Normally you'd just run off on your own and leave it to the rest of us to figure out what happened to you."

"Well I don't like what's going on here, everything about this whole thing just sets me off," Ragna grumbled.

"I-I suppose it's natural, given the state of war that we're in," their guide and old ally Chrom had told Ragna about spoke nervously. "I w-wouldn't be surprised if that Aversa woman had something planned… It was a terrible decision to bring her with a us."

"Tch, I'll say the same thing about you," Ragna grumbled as he headed for trees. As he kept walking, he couldn't help, but overhear what the noble was saying about him, assuming he was out of earshot.

"T-That man seems like quite the brute. Prince Chrom, I implore you to reconsider the unconditional trust you've given him. His decisions could have terrible effects on your army."

"How can you say something like that?" Ragna heard Robin demand, her tone seeming slightly hostile. "Ragna's done nothing but work beyond the point of exhaustion for the Shepherd's ever since he's joined and he's helped us all to improve!"

"Y-yes, that may be true, but he's certainly taken quite a few risks, even after he, er, _left_ his position as head tactician. H-how can we expect him not to betray us if he doesn't accept our authority?"

"Because we trust him," Fredrick told the Hierarch. "He came to us when we needed him the most and since then he's done nothing but aid us to the best of his abilities. If it weren't for him I fear we'd have lost several friends along the way. His actions might not be the most… tempered, but he's never meant ill to any of us."

"But he still…"

"Peace," Phila told him from where she sat atop her pegasus. "I know you mean well Hierarch, but I've known Prince Chrom and Frederick to be excellent judges of character."

"A-as you say…" the Hierarch said from afar, leading to the Reaper to roll his eyes as he finally made it to the tree line.

The trees seemed to appear healthy and very much alive at the edge of the road, but the further Ragna traveled the more signs he saw of claw marks and decay. These things were killing the natural life just by being around it, which gave all the more reason to wipe these things out now. A large blob of a risen came out of the treeline, it was the Revenant type; the type that wore a leather bag over its head and attacked mainly by using its claws and could avoid by turning its body into a puddle of ooze.

The creature gave off a pathetic groan before melting into a puddle and shifting around on the floor, quickly approaching Ragna. The Reaper rolled his eyes before the monster burst out of the puddle with its claws extended to stab into his flesh, but Ragna's right arm shot out with a punch to the creature's head, so powerful that it impaled into the sack and burst out the other side. The Revenant moaned as it's body slowly dissolved into shadows and became absorbed by Ragna's _**BlazBlue**_.

The foliage around the Reaper shifted as several different Risen were revealed from it, some wielding axes, others wielding swords, and there was even a few in knight's armor. Ragna didn't draw his sword just yet, he simply stood in the center, glancing around as he was surrounded by the risen. As the Risen rushed forward towards him, he began going barehanded on the offensive.

He dodged a Risen's axe swing from behind by sidestepping the attack and retaliated by spin kicking the Risen in the back of the head with enough force to knock its head off and destroy the body. A second Risen attempted to rush forward and impale him on a short spear, but Ragna easily avoided the attack before grabbing the weapon's shaft and throwing the Risen soldier off of it.

Ragna might not have had a lot of practice using lances, but like any good warrior he could quickly adapt. Ragna started by stabbing into a myrmidon and then flipped the lance and performed a horizontal slash on three risen, downing them quickly. The Reaper then threw his weapon and impaled it through two Risen that dispersed into dark energy for Ragna's arm.

"Not a bad meal," Ragna said looking at his arm before cringing slightly. That simple sentence had reminded him about someone he'd really rather not think about. Someone who'd given him more than a share of a bad time and who lived only to fight strong opponents and _devour_ them (whatever that meant). While he was occupied with his thoughts the three armored risen approached him with lances, but Ragna simply took _Blood-Scythe_ and hacked through their armor like it was paper. The Risen lances approached him from behind, but he simply sent out a _Thunder, Wind,_ and _Fire_ spell a each of them consecutively to put them out.

 _Lean on Me_

"One left," Ragna said as the last warrior risen warrior approached him. The Reaper did nothing, not flinching in the slightest as a bolt of darkness passed near him and slammed into the monster, destroying it. "Was wondering when you were going to show yourself," he said to the woman behind him.

"I saw you leaving for the treeline, curiosity simply got the better of me," Aversa told him as she place her darkness tome back on her hip. "That and I felt like I need to take some of my aggression out on these Risen."

"Take some aggression out?" Ragna asked as he looked to the where the Risen had been standing. "What the hell did these things do to you?"

"Nothing, but it's more of what they represent," Aversa told him, er face seeming to be filled with disgust at the thought. "I told you earlier that some assume that the Risen can be seen as a representation of Grima's influence and power? The Grimleal can be considered the ones who spread his influence, and I can't stand anything to deal with that cult, save for my Pegasus that's still in Plegia. Erasing these Risen will help to erase some of the work they've done, work that I was responsible for..."

"If that's what keeps you moving," Ragna said as he crossed his arms. "So… what do you think about that bad actor who's traveling with us?"

"The Hierarch? He's not making himself well hidden in the slightest," Aversa said with a role of her eyes. "He has to be the spy that let the assassins into the castle last night. No, spy is too fair of a word, traitor seems more appropriate. But how were you able to tell after only talking to him for ten seconds?"

"I'm pretty decent at reading people," Ragna told the ex-Grimleal with a shrug. "It's helped keep me alive more than a couple of times."

"Really?" Aversa asked, her tone seeming slightly sultry to our Reaper. "Then if you're so good at reading, what can you say about me?"

"Well you're a bit harder to figure than the idiot from earlier, but from what I can tell you're loyal and strangely adaptable. You cared a lot about that asshole Validar when you were in his order, but now that you know what he was really doing you don't seem to have any quips about tearing it all down," Ragna told her. "That's a change of policy if I've ever heard of one."

"And you seem to be one of the few that accept me for it," Aversa said with a sad smile. "I suppose I should have expected it, but it seems as though the Shepherds won't trust me just yet. I still have doubts that they ever will."

"Hey, just give it some time," Ragna assured her. "They'll warm up to you eventually, I mean hell, 'took some work but I think even Freddy's starting to get along with me. I guess it might help if you've got someone to relate to… I don't know, make a friend or something. Spend some time with the Shepherds instead of keeping to yourself. Maybe spend some time with me first and let everyone know that you're a decent person as a start."

"Oh?" Aversa said with a suggestive smile. "Am I hearing an offer to spend more time with me? Or is it more of a plea? I didn't think you were that clingy Ragna."

"Who's clingy?! I'm offering to help you dammit!" Ragna yelled, before noticing Aversa's small giggle at his outburst. "Shit, played again huh?"

"Like a lute," Aversa said smiling with equal amounts of mock and contentedness. "Oh, I'm going to be enjoying this little friendship of ours."

"Bully for you," Ragna muttered before giving an exasperated smile; maybe it wasn't what he had in mind to help Aversa, but it was something.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Aversa**_

The two then left the treeline and headed to follow the rest of the convoy. Aversa had decided to follow Ragna for now, so the two were now at the front with Chrom and the others, suspected Noble included. Instead of calling out the Noble where he stood and leading to a heated debate, Ragna decided to stay silent and see where things went, knowing full well that he could handle whatever came up.

"So… tired…" Ragna heard Lissa complain from beside him as the group kept walking. "How… much longer are we going to have to… go?"

"C'mon Lissa," Chrom said with a chuckle. "This is only a walk through the country. You can get used to it can't you?"

"I'm with Lissa on this one," Robin agreed through her panting breaths. "This journey is starting to tire me out as well. My legs feel like pudding."

"Heh, should I carry you then?" Chrom asked with a small smirk, which turned to a shudder as Robin glared at him.

"You can carry me!" Lissa exclaimed, stomping her feet. "No.. seriously… carrying me would be nice."

"Don't count on it princess," Ragna said gruffly. "Walking never killed anyone."

"Well it's killing my feet!" Lissa shouted as she tackled Ragna from behind and latched onto him.

'Hey what the hell!?" Ragna yelled as he tried shake the young lady from his back, Robin giggled and Chrom rolled his eyes while he struggled. "Get off dammit!"

"I can't walk another step; Just let me rest for a little bit," Lissa told him as she continued to cling to him.

"Rest on one of the horses then!" Ragna shouted. "I'm not a pack mule for crying out loud!" While try to get Lissa of his back (literally) Reaper saw a large force approaching from far away. "Chrom! We're gonna have company!"

"I see them!" Chrom shouted as he drew Falchion and Lissa quickly got off of Ragna. "Damn it! How the hell did they know we were here?!"

"Someone talked," Ragna said darkly as the forces approached. He already knew that they were Plegian from the crimson armor that they were wearing. He also caught sight of several Wyvern's in the sky. "Chrom, do you trust me?"

"You're asking me this now!?" Chrom shouted as the force got closer. "Of course I do!"

"Then let this happen," Ragna told him as he grabbed the Hierarch by his neck and hoisted him into midair. Chrom and the others were about to yell at Ragna to stop as the man in grip let out a frightened scream, but the Reaper beat him to it. "Listen up you bastards! I've got your spy right here! Back off now or I'll break his neck!"

"Spy?" Chrom said in sudden realization, as the Hierarch struggled to get free of Ragna's grip. "Th-that's not true is it?"

"Aw, looks like they figured the little piggy out!" they heard one of the wyvern riders shout with a sneer. The Plegian army stood at the ready at the riders signal, waiting to see how things played out.

"P-please… h-help me," the Hierarch said in plea. "I brought them here! I did everything I was told! Validar and Gangrel said I could live if I assisted them!"

"And there's the problem pig; Validar just got slaughtered didn't he? Man can't keep his word if he's dead!" the same rider said. "But I'm feeling generous; take out one of those fools and you can ride back with us to Plegia after we water the ground with Ylissean blood!"

Though the Hierarch looked even paler and clearly afraid for his life, his arm slowly inched towards his coat. Chrom starred on, hoping desperately that one of his oldest allies would stop.

"Don't try it," Ragna threatened, but the fool didn't listen as it hurriedly took a dagger out of his coat and moved to stab the Reaper.

"No!" Chrom shouted running at the two, driving his blade into the man who'd he'd always imagined would stand by his sister through whatever trials she and Ylisse would face, but just now proved he'd throw all of that away for some petty form of self preservation. The Hierarch gave a sudden jerk as the blade pierced through him before dying.

"Well that was interesting," the wyvern captain noted. "Now… KILL THEM ALL!" His battalion roared as they rushed towards the Shepherds, weapons drawn and tomes brandished.

"Phila! Stay with my sister! Robin! Get our troops organized! And Ragna-!" The Reaper then dropped the Hierarch revealing that the knife from earlier had been impaled in his heart. Chrom's eyes widened as he realized he'd been too late. Lissa, Aversa, and even Fredrick realized what had happened and their faces when taught with horror.

Ragna himself looked down at the knife, stabbed into him, but didn't seem to think anything of it, he simply pulled the knife out like it was nothing and threw it to the ground. "Next time make up your mind a little faster," he said to Chrom. "Come on, we got a fight to take care of."

"But what about your heart?" Lissa asked as she went forward toward Ragna with her healing stave, sending a small turquoise glow over the wound.

(Cue a battle theme, I'll have you pick this time)

"Thanks," Ragna said as he brandished _Blood-Scythe_. _'I didn't need the healing 'cause I have my own regeneration, but now might not be the best time to bring that up._ ' "You were saying Chrom?"

"You're with me," the prince told him as he faced toward the oncoming threat. Despite himself, the Lord smirked. "Right down the middle?"

"Why not? Let's change it up a bit," Ragna said with a smirk of his own as the two forces charged towards each other.

Ragna sent a _**Dead Spike**_ towards the enemy which smashed into several lance users to go flying. Chrom blocked a slash from an axe user before pushing the weapon back and impaling Falchion into the barbarian. He quickly dodged another slash from an enemy swordsman and retaliated by cutting him down.

Ragna dodged an incoming stab from a lance wielding cavalier with ease, before cutting down the rider with his sword. He then swept his left hand and sent out a wind spell at a knight and downed it with the magic attack. While Chrom was busy finishing of an armored knight by impaling Falchion into it, an enemy soldier came from behind to attack him with a lance. He was forced to let go of his sword to dodge the attack. When the soldier tried to attack Chrom again when he was defenseless. As the soldier went for a second attack, Chrom grabbed the steel lance's shaft and managed to yank it out of the soldier's hands.

' _I guess Frederick was right to teach me lancework when I was younger,'_ Chrom thought as he impaled the soldier with his new weapon before using it to block the sword of an enemy myrmidon, hitting him with the blunt of the lance like a quarterstaff, using it to knock his opponent off guard before impaling him.

"Chrom!" Ragna shouted as he finished of a squad of lance users in a single cleave of his sword. He then performed a roundhouse kick on Falchion which was still impaled inside a knight, and sent it spiraling towards Chrom. The Prince let out a yelp as he barely managed to catch the sword by its handle in his right hand.

"Don't just kick a sword at me! You could have taken my head off!" Chrom shouted as he deflected a barbarian's axe with falchion before proceeding to stab again his lance. Two thieves then came at Chrom, but the Prince managed to block both of their attacks with his lance before he cut across their chests with a single slash of his sword. _'The Falchion and a lance together? I might actually have something here…'_

Meanwhile above the two, Cordelia and Sumia were engaged in an air battle with the wyverns and their riders. The two were at a slight disadvantage due to them using lances against the wyverns powerful axes, but what they lost in the weapons triangle, they more than made up for in their skill and agility. As one of the riders swung its axe at the redhead, Cordelia dove downward and avoided it, leaving the enemy open to be attacked by Sumia. While gaining momentum for her dive, Cordelia managed to swerve her mount around in order to impale another wyvern rider.

Down below, Robin shouted command after command out to the troops, directing them with both ease and brilliance, though she did not shirk from her duties in combat either. She'd been studying up on her spellcraft recently, and had upgraded her lightning tome to be able to cast _Elthunder_. As she managed to take down a wyvern with her spell, an enemy barbarian broke through the line and made for her in a blood driven and feral manner before being blasted in the back by a _Elfire_ spell. Robin turned her head to see that the runaway bride, Elphelt Valentine, had been the one to protect her. Giving the woman a nod of thanks, the tactician went back to her job.

"That's it! No more screwing around!" Chrom heard the commander say before hearing the high pitched sound of a wyvern diving in the air. Chrom's reflexes barely allowed him to dodge the axe swing that had been aimed for his head. "Time to die Princy!" he heard the commanding rider shout.

"God! Just shut up already!" Ragna shouted as he flung his arm to cast another wind spell. As he did, the **BlazBlue** gave off a turquoise spark as the size of the spell drastically increased giving off a larger blast of wind that tore the wyvern rider to shreds, protecting Chrom from the second assault.

(End theme)

 _ **Spell Upgraded:**_ _Elwind_ The attack mimics the spell of its name. It is the more powerful version of _Wind_ , but costs more dark energy. This spell can be further improved to _Arcwind_ with sufficient practice.

"Looks like we're done here," Ragna said as he twirled his sword around a few times before resetting it back on his weapon belt. The enemy had been completely routed, though none of the Pelagians had accepted capture, opting to fight to the last man once more. "So you managed to add a spear to your regular sword style?"

"It has a bit of an odd feel to it, but I think I can create my own style out of this," Chrom told his friend as he sheathed his sword, but still carried the lance he'd acquired. "But what about you? You just managed to use an Novice level spell without a tome like it was nothing."

"Well I've got my arm remember?" Ragna told him. "But I actually didn't have to rely on it as much this time, I think I'm just starting to get the feel for this world's spellcraft. Kinda surprised you haven't tried your hand at it."

"Some people have an aptitude for magic, some people are meant for physical combat and swordplay, I just happen to be the later," Chrom told him as the two started to head back.

"That so?" Ragna said to him. "You know when I was a kid they told me I'd never be able to use Ars Magus, told me I didn't have the aptitude for it." He glanced at his arm with a cocky grin. "But that didn't stop me. Sometimes talent isn't everything."

"That sounds like something Sully would say," Chrom noted as they approached Emmeryn and Phila. The Exalt was sitting on one of the roadside rocks, a very dour mood on her face like Ragna had seen her with the previous night. "Are you alright Emm?"

"I'm safe," she told him. "But the Hierarch betrayed us? He was always one of our most trustworthy allies, what will happen to the rest of Ylisse now?"

"I don't know, but we need to get you somewhere safe," Chrom said. "Even if we solve this war quickly if we lose you, we lose everything."

"I'm not Ylisse itself Chrom," Emmeryn told her brother. "I do not represent the entire nation, I only rule it as best I can."

"Sorry to interrupt," Ragna said to the group. "But we've got someone coming in from the west." The group turned their head to the object, which was still mostly a blot on the horizon. "Looks like a Pegasus, a badly wounded one."

Indeed it was, though badly wounded was a merciful description. Both the rider and her mount had several arrow shot into both of them and were covered in their own blood. Every flap of the Pegasus's wings were slow and laboured and the rider was slumped forward in her saddle. The Pegasus gave a haunting high pitched whine before plummeting into the ground.

"Cordelia, Sumia, you're with me!" Phila commanded. "And make sure you bring a vulnerary with you!" With that the three Pegasus riders took off towards the downed rider. Ragna and the others stayed back, waiting in anticipation for the downed rider. About ten minutes later they returned, the three's faces a mixture of disparity and grimness. "That… that was Cleo… she was my second in command…"

"Second in command?" Ragna asked before realizing what she meant. "You left her in charge back at the Capital?"

"Yes… Gangrel has invaded Ylisse," she said, her gauntlet gripped in anger. "And what was worse is the Pegasus Knights… my sisters…. He slaughtered them all. His armies barely a half day behind ours."

"And that son of a bitch is supposed to be a king," Ragna growled before walking westward.

"Ragna wait," Emmeryn told. "You'd be facing the entire Plegian army."

"Good, not much of a point if I don't send a message," Ragna responded.

"I can't allow you to go not like this!" Emmeryn demanded standing in Ragna's way. "I will not condone bloodshed with further bloodshed, do you not see what this will do to us?"

"Don't you get how many people he's killed!?" Ragna demanded. "He's a madman hell bent on massacring an entire kingdom!"

"Which is why I'm stopping you," Emmeryn said to him with resolve, her eye not giving in to the Reaper's glare. "I won't let you become the leader of your own massacre. Ragna if you leave now you'll become the same as Gangrel."

"Too late, I've already got plenty of blood on my hands remember?" Ragna reminded her.

"Yes, but that was your own fight in your own war," Emmeryn told him as the rest of the Shepherd's simply looked on, not interfering with the current argument. "You told me that this was your second chance, a new beginning in your life, I won't let you throw that away."

"I'm not throwing it away I'm doing it for the Shepherd's; I'm doing it for my family!" Ragna shouted.

"I know you are, but what will happen to Plegia? To its citizens? Just imagine the world afterwards. Families stripped apart from the carnage, starvation in the streets, the people in constant fear of Ylisse; wounds that would never heal for generations leading to further wars and more bloodshed." Emmeryn sighed. "Ragna don't do this let me talk to Gangrel, if I speak with him I know we can come to terms."

"And what if he doesn't listen, what if kills you? What then!?" Ragna demanded.

"...Then so be it," Emm told him.

"You can't be serious!" Chrom shouted. "Emm, Ylisse needs you! The Shepherd's need you! I need you!"

"But it must be done," the Exalt told her brother before taking what appeared to be a small shield out of the folds of her robe. "I'll need you to hold onto this for me."

"The Fire Emblem, but Emmeryn…"

"Sis…" Lissa said with tear filled eyes.

As she handed Chrom the Emblem, the Exalt gave her siblings the warm smile that Ragna had remembered from first seeing the her, the one filled with light, with hope, with peace. "Don't cry," she said softly as she embraced her siblings. "Phila, I know my mission my be a vain one but-"

"You don't have to finish that sentence milady," the leader of the Pegasus knights told her. "I swore to protect you wherever you may go."

Emmeryn gave a sad nod before turning to Ragna. "Can I trust you to be my siblings safe on the road to Regna Ferox? I know I'm already asking you too much to stay behind, but-"

"Save your breath I'll do it," Ragna said, though he clearly wasn't happy with it. "But you've got a family to come back to, I won't forgive you if you die."

"I understand…" Emmeryn said. "Naga's grace to all of you." And with that, Emmeryn and Phila mounted the Pegasus and flew back to the capital.

"...I should get the troops organized to march," Robin said gloomily as she headed back to the rest of the Shepherds.

"Yeah…" Chrom agreed. "I'll go with you."

With the rest of group heading out Ragna stood where he'd been before, watching the distant shadow as Emm and Phila continued their journey.

"You still have doubts that this will end well?" Frederick asked from beside him. The Reaper slowly nodded. "Then why did you let her go?"

"...I'll give peace a chance."

 **Author's Note: Blah, Blah, don't own anything Blah.**

 **Not exactly proud of that chapter, but I honestly had a lot of trouble writing for it. It was a bit hard to find a way to portray the scene to everyone in character and give Ragna a reason to stand down instead of going all Reaper on Gangrel. Ah… politics… not my strongest writing point.**

 **Anyways, here's the Omake. Like I said above these aren't following the stories cannon, they're just here as fun extras. Enjoy it all the same.**

 _From Fear to Respect_

Ragna yawned as the Shepherd's made camp for the night, setting up tents in order to endure another night in the wilderness. Ragna himself was already used to sleeping out in the open at night, he didn't mind the cold and watching the stars beat protection from the wind in his book.

Since he didn't have a tent to set up, he decided to appoint himself to the guy who'd hang back and keep watch, maybe get a little alone time to himself.

"Anything to report?"

Or not. Ragna turned his head to the source of the voice of his old… rival? Ally? He didn't really know what to call Tager. "Silent as ever I guess," he said in response. "Don't you have sensors for this kind of thing?"

"Indeed, but without any guaranteed way of recharging I've decided to conserve power wherever I can. Sadly I don't think my systems will be able stay functioning long enough for society to develop electric power."

"Can you absorb it, lightning and electricity I mean?" Ragna decided to ask. At Tager's nod he sent out a small spark of a _Thunder_ spell out at him, which Tager absorbed without discomfort. "Better?"

"Much, thank you, but I must say that I wasn't expecting such kindness after all the times we've traded blows."

"Meh, times changes, we're on the same side now right?" Ragna said passively.

"I don't suppose it's times as much as it is you, or perhaps your setting just needed a simple change," Tager said, adjusting his glasses. "You certainly seem much more at ease here, more so than when we've ever met."

"To be fair, I was never really in the best of moods when you saw me," Ragna told him.

"Is that right? Forgive me, but I was under the impression that you only had two moods; enraged or snarky."

"...Twist the dagger why dontcha?" Ragna grumbled.

"Well at least that's how I felt at the time, but now I'm more than a little confused. How could someone with a reputation so terrible be so respected in a militia like this one?"

Ragna chuckled. "Well for one thing I don't have that shitty bounty poster to deal with mean."

"Meaning you're not a wanted man, or the poster itself?" Tager asked, remembering the fairly inaccurate caricature of Ragna the Bloodedge.

"Yes," Ragna answered. "I dunno, maybe it's because I had a clean slate to start with here. Back home what was the first thing that made my name known? I wiped out a branch of the world government, not exactly a good greeting card. This world? I save a town and suddenly I'm everyone's best friend."

"I can only hope that this world will treat me as kindly…" Tager told him. "I have the distinct feeling that most of you Malitia is more than a little unnerved at my appearance."

"They'll get used to you easily enough, I mean at least you don't have a toxic personality like your boss." The insult at Kokonoe was pretty harsh, but oddly Tager didn't argue. "Mirel and Ricken seem to like you though."

"Oh yes, the mages. Well I prefer it if Mirel didn't want to... disassemble me."

"Heh," Ragna chuckled. "Always someone isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so… at least the child only wants to know how I got to be so tall."

"It's kind of a theme with him," Ragna explained. "But you'll get used to it, they're all good people."

"And they all seem to have a sense of respect for you," Tager noted. "I never imagined I'd say this to you of all people, but I look forward to fighting alongside you in the coming days."

"Same to you Dev- er, Tager," Ragna said in response.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Iron Tager**_

 _ **And that the chapter ladies and gents. Loss, Redemption, Revenge is going to be start it's second Arc next so stay tuned for that and as always, Ciao!**_


	18. Risen in the Snow

_Chapter XVII: Risen in the Snow_

Ragna laid inside his tent, deep in thought as the snow slowly fell to the ground outside. The Shepherd's had marched for several hours after the cliffside battle and had only recently allowed themselves to break for camp. The Reaper couldn't quit worrying about what was happening; Plegia's full scale attack on Ylisse, the slaughter of the Pegasus Knights, and Emmeryn's resolve to end the problem herself with talks of peace. It was a lot to take in, even for him and as a usual result…

"Damn it, no sleep again..." Ragna grumbled before getting out of his cot, standing, and retrieving his jacket and sword. He wasn't in the mood for any practicing after what happened, but figured a walk could do him good.

Outside his tent, Ragna felt the frigid cold quickly hit him and felt the snow as it began to fall on his already white hair. He started to walk around, heading for the edge of the camp so that he wouldn't awaken anyone from his walk. As he steadily got closer to the tree line, the snow softly crunching beneath his feet, he started to hear something in the distance… crying.

 _A Shoulder to Cry On_

' _That sounds like Sumia,'_ Ragna thought to himself. He half considered heading off and letting her work the problem out on her own, but he remember that he'd just been told that she'd lost all of her former unit of Pegasus riders. ' _Guess I'll go talk to her, not sure what good I can do though…'_ he thought to himself as he headed to where he heard the crying.

Sumia was sitting on top of a fallen tree, crying in her hands. Her shoulders and hair were already covered in snow, letting Ragna know that she'd already been here for a while.

"If you stay out here like this you'll catch a cold," Ragna told her as he approached. Sumia lightened her crying for a moment to address him.

"Oh, Ragna… Uh, what are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Couldn't sleep again, so I thought I'd take a walk," Ragna told her as he cleared the snow off a small section next to her and took a seat. "Heard you crying, so I thought I'd make sure you were… all right."

"I'm not," Sumia told him sadly. "I spent a lot of time in the Pegasus Knights before I became a Shepherd, back then I was really clumsy, tripping over practically nothing and forgetting all of the basics during training."

' _And you're not doing that now?_ ' Ragna thought to himself, but refrained from saying it.

"Th-they still never gave up on me," Sumia told him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as her voice became shaky. "Even after all of my blunders, even after I let all of the Pegasi out by mistake and they had to round them, even after I-" Sumia couldn't take it anymore as she burst out crying.

Ragna was unsure how he should handle this, so he settled for putting his hand on her shoulder for reassurance. He didn't say a word and patiently waited for Sumia to finish.

"Sorry you had to see that," she told Ragna wiping her eyes. "It's just that with everything happening recently I've been overwhelmed."

"Not really surprising, anyone would feel like that," Ragna assured her. "I can't say a whole lot, but the best thing to do is to keep moving forward rely on your friends from time to time. Maybe think about fighting for their sake if it helps."

"What about you?" Sumia asked him. "Back when you lost your home for the first time, what did you do?"

"I wouldn't recommend trying it if that's what you're getting at," Ragna told her darkly. "Living for revenge… it's not worth anything."

"You wouldn't? But… didn't you get strong because of it?" Sumia question, leaving Ragna to give an amused chuckle.

"Nah, I got strong starting off because of my master, not because of revenge. The idea of taking down the NOL and ending Terumi… well it didn't make me strong, more like it made me dangerous. I kept everyone I came across at more than arm's length, I acted without thinking, and I started getting into fights at the drop of a hat." Ragna turned to Sumia with a kinder smile. "But you're better than me."

"B-Better than you?" Sumia stuttered. Like many of the other Shepherd's she saw Ragna as their greatest fighter, and having him tell her that she was better than him was something she wouldn't have expected. "What makes you say that?"

"Have a little self confidence," Ragna chuckled. "So maybe you blunder every now and again, I'd bet good money that you'd never once thought of passing the blame to someone else. You're good at listening to people and keep trying your best. I don't really know what you're going through, but you'll find a way to get through it."

'Well if you really think so…" Sumia said before smiling and standing. "Maybe I'll try reading a good adventure novel. I can just imagine all of the Shepherd's as the heroes who come in to save the daAYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

The last part was screamed as Sumia performed her usual miracle of tripping over absolutely nothing, this time while standing in place. Ragna watched in surprised awe as she face planted in the snow right in front of him.

"Uh… Sumia?" Ragna asked as he stared at her body implant in the snow. The Pegasus knight finally managed to pick her face out of the ground, the snow clung to her face and made it appear that she had a frosty beard. The Reaper laughed at the display, though not mocking or unkindly. "Never change Sumia, never change."

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Sumia**_

Ragna made his way back to his tent, his spirits feeling slightly restored thanks to the unplanned humor he'd received. As he moved to open his tent flap, an annoying flash of light hit his eye. Blocking the annoyance with his hand while squinting, Ragna glance around for the source before realizing that it seemed to be coming from the top of a nearby snowy hill to the north. Ragna stood there in confusion before the reflected light hit him in the eye once more.

' _Wait a minute… Marth was using that back when I fought her in Ylisse,'_ he thought to himself. ' _I guess she's going to need my help with something… One thing's for damn sure; I ain't getting a wink of sleep tonight.'_

Ragna quickly made his way out of the camp once more and hurried up the hill, the snow did little to impede his progress as he made his way to where he saw the blue haired enigma waiting for him as she leaned against the tree, wearing a dark blue cloak to help protect her from the cold.

"I was hoping you'd have gotten my message," she said to him as the bone chilling wind caused her hair and cloak to flutter. "I'm here with a warning. There's a town a fair distance north of here that's going to be attacked by Risen soon. They're going to be coming from just east of here, so if you move now you can encounter them in the field and the village won't be at risk."

"East of here huh?" Ragna repeated before glancing at his Azure Grimoire. "Let's see if this works." Ragna focused his power into his arm and focused, imagining his power reaching out and locating Risen. Even eventually he got a response signal and could tell where they were. Clearly a good distance away; the size of the force was much more sizable than even the massive one that he'd fought last time he was in Regna Ferox.

 _ **Ability Gained**_ : Risen Radar (Greatly increases the range of your Risen Sense by focusing your energies on that ability)

"All right, I got a lock," Ragna said as he began to head east.

"Where are you going? Aren't you forgetting the Shepherd's? My father doesn't know about this threat," Marth told him.

"So Chrom is your dear old dad," Ragna noted, making realization dawn to Marth that she'd unintentionally revealed her identity. 'Hey I already told you I'd keep it a secret, but I don't need Chrom or anyone else for this."

"Don't tell me you plan to wipe out the entire force on your own," Marth demanded from him. "The size of the force is larger than you could possibly imagine and the Risen are incredibly powerful!"

"Chrom and the others just had a rough enough day as it is, I can handle this myself," Ragna told her in a huff as he began to walk off.

"You don't understand, my father has to stop this, he called this his greatest failure!" Marth shouted at him standing in his way. Ragna considered it lucky that the wind was blowing strong enough now, he doubted anyone from the camp could hear the two from here. "In the future I come from, the town was almost completely destroyed in the attack and several townspeople were killed. My father never forgot what happened and constantly suffered nightmares, even five years after the event! I can't let that happen a second time!"

The young swordswoman glared at the Grim Reaper with conviction, showing just how serious she was about the matter. She'd already seen her father suffer enough, she couldn't stand to see that a second time.

"Well…" Ragna began, before simply walking past Marth and proceeding. "If you really think I need backup, go get them yourself."

"But I can't do that!" Marth shouted at him as he continued to depart. "If I encounter them again they could figure out my true identity! It could alter the history for the worse and I might not exist!"

"Not my problem," Ragna told her as he kept walking.

"It should be! Do you have any idea what happens in the-!" Marth started to get fed up and started following Ragna. "Will you at least stop when I'm talking to you!?"

"And let the Risen get closer to the town? Not a chance."

"Can't you at least be a little reasonable!?" Getting fed up with Ragna's actions Marth grabbed the back of his coat and planted her feet firmly on the ground. She'd hope that she'd stop the Reaper, but she didn't even slow him and Ragna continued to walk. The time traveler continued to hold tightly to the coat as she was dragged, but to no effect.

"Chrom's daughter or not, you better hope my coat doesn't rip," Ragna threatened as he continued on his path with Marth still tugging in vain.

 _ **Meanwhile in Plegia**_

The Grimleal council was in full uproar, as was to be expected. After the death of their cultist leader Validar, the mad power grab for the leader's seat was inevitable. Each member of the higher council was making his or her claim as to why they should be the ones to lead.

"Do you not understand the blessing I've been given?" Tridala Verner, a woman in her fiftieth age addressed the council. Her hair, while once considered to be beautiful and raven, was now dulling and graying and her once fair skin was wrinkled. "Out of all of the members of this council, who else has received over fifty visions from our dark lord, all of them proving to be true!"

"Your foresight is nothing more than a grandiose display coupled with the few spies that you own!" Matthew Nightcrawl, a man only in his mid twenties, but already carrying a pot belly and a messy blonde beard, shouted in retort. "I have been the most loyal servant to the cult since the very day I willingly gave myself to the cause. Who else has managed to bring back more sacrifices for our god to feast on? Who else could make anyone be it man, woman, or child, willingly give their life for the honor of appeasing our lord!? No one I tell you! No one!"

"And perhaps you have forgotten who the crown called upon to represent us in our darkest times," a man simply referred to a Pharos said to the rest, in a much more calm matter. He had a black hair and beard, both freshly cut and maintained. Unlike the other members at the table, he bore several scars that he'd earned in Plegia's previous war. "It was I who lead our forces of mages, I who stood against the slaughter, and I who slew many of the Ylissean curs. Has anyone here the courage to stand on the battlefield, having only your fellow mages and spells to rely on, or has your largest battle only ever been to stand from those seats you seem so fixated to?"

Pharos's insult did carry plenty of weight, but many members returned the insult with barrages of their own. At this rate it might only have been a matter of time, had the doors to the council not been flung open with a sudden crash. The councilmen and women stopped their bickering long enough to observe the newcomer who approached… or as much of him as they could.

The being in question only wore a long black robe with a hood that covered his face and was so loosely fitted they could discern whether it was a man or woman they gazed upon. While the robe itself was mostly in tatters, markings of the Fell Dragon's eyes adorned the front of the coat while older markings of Grima's jaws adorned the hood and largely unused markings of the Fell Dragon's wings were etched onto the coat's back. On his sleeves, which were kept together by the figure, a newer marking of the Fell Dragon's wicked flames. Outside the doorway, the council could see the temple guards, all on the floor beaten with purple flames licking their bodies as they groaned in defeat.

" _ **What a pitiful gathering**_ **,** " the voice under the hood spoke. It was terribly raspy and forced, but could be confirmed as masculine. " _ **If you are the current heads of our cult, it is reasonable to see why we are in a dire state such as this**_ **.** "

"How dare you!" Tridala shouted. "How dare a ragged stranger as rotten as yourself judge us so!"

" _ **What is the matter? Did Grima not send you word of my arrival and insults through your so called 'visions' Lady Verner?**_ " the figure said again, though his voice seemed void of humor. The nobel woman began to sputter, so the figure continued. " _ **Yes, I know who you are, all of you. I knew of this gathering, and I even knew of what claims you had made mere moments ago. You all may suggest to have gifts granted by Grima so that you may serve him… the difference is that mine. Are. REAL.**_ "

"So you might say," Matthew said unimpressed, rolling his eyes at the thought. "I haven't seen you perform anything to prove your worth."

" _ **I could say the same about you Lord Nightcrawl,**_ " the enigma said. " _ **Purchasing slaves and abusing them, only to make like their sacrifice to Grima seem like a blissful escape. That practice was outlawed by our cult long ago, and the dark lord is not pleased to receive such… violated offerings. Were these the old days your head would now be on a pike**_ **.** " Watching the color drain from the fat pompouses face, the cloaked man moved on. " _ **And lastly we come to High Sorcerer Pharos**_ **.** "

Pharos said nothing as he waited to see what the man had to say of him. Unlike the others, he was curious of his shortcomings and how this man could see them.

" _ **While your power of the dark magics is far less than mine, your claims are valid and you very well could have usurped Validar given the proper time. You have been one of the few to serve this cult properly and it is both a pleasure and an honor to stand before you**_ **.** " Still unsure, Pharos gave the man a small nod.

"Enough of this game!" Matthew demanded. "What do you want with the council and while we're on the subject, who are you!?"

" _ **What do I want? I thought that would be obvious, I have come here to lead the Grimleal to our destiny. I have seen Grima with my own eyes as it has stood before me and this is how the Fell Dragon placed my fate. I am to be both his tool and his herald. As for my name… you may call me Minos**_ **.** "

Minos… in this world that was a name of both power and legend. In the Grimleal legends, Minos was a powerful figure who judged those killed by Grima's godly flames. He would judge what fate their afterlife would lead, weather it be to serve Grima in glorious afterlife or the far more terrifying option of suffering in the Fell Dragon's stomach for all eternity. Unlike Grima itself, Minos was never known to actually exist, more like he made a representation of something beyond this world.

At once the entire council was roaring with laughter, all except for Pharos who did nothing, but stare at the man who made the ridiculous claim. Minos (as he was now calling himself), simply stood at the laughter, not appearing irked in the slightest.

"Oh this is a joke, isn't it?" Tridala said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "I'd never thought the Mad King would have such a sense of humor to send you to us."

" _ **I am no jester, you'd be a fool to think so,**_ " Minos said darkly. There was still snickering in the background at his claims, so the enigma tried a different approach. " _ **What say we settle this with the old ways?**_ "

Immediately there was silence in the court. The old ways of settling this matter was not a pretty one, as it included combat to where only one was ever permitted to survive; it was ceremonial combat to the death.

"Are you mad?" one councilman demanded. "Who says that we shall play your game!?"

" _ **Though this method has not been used in over a century, it is still a valid trial of decision. Should no one accept I will declare myself leader of the Grimleal here and now!**_ " The deafening silence that followed lasted a full two minutes until Matthew raised his fist.

"I shall accept your challenge!" he shouted, receiving many hushed whispers from the council. "If all I need to do is destroy a petty usurper like you, then it will be a simple matter. I shall lead the Grimleal as soon as I am done."

"Not if I have anything to say about this," Tridala told him. "I've been eyeing Validar's seat for far too long to let you simply take it. I enter as the third contestant!"

Pharos starred in slight awe at the man who'd entered less than five minutes ago, but had already bent the council to his will. This Minos character, anyone could tell that he was dangerous. And the guards at the door had been downed easily… but just how far did the abilities go?

" _ **You need not accept High Sorcerer**_ **,** " Minos spoke to him. " _ **I could very well need you at my side in the coming days, surely one last other member would take your place? There can only be up to four in this battle**_ **.** "

At the rest of the council's silence, Pharos knew his duty bound path. ' _Grima grant me strength._ ' "I shall be the fourth and final participant," he said before rising from his seat. He stood as a warrior and a man of Grima, he would not fail.

" _ **Very well**_ **,** " Minos said, seeming somewhat saddened before addressing the council like he already owned them. " _ **Prepare the trial**_ **.** "

 _ **Back to Ragna and Marth**_

"I'm telling you; you can't go!" Marth shouted as she continued to tug on Ragna's coat, even now.

"Marth…" Ragna began.

"You'll get yourself killed and then what? The town will be destroyed and father will have to live with that feeling of failure again!"

"Marth."

"I can't understand why you won't just-"

"MARTH!" Ragna shouted as he final stopped walking causing the blue swordswoman to lose her footing and fall backwards into the snow.

"WHAT!?" she shouted back from the ground. Trying to get the snow out of her hair.

"We're already here." Scowling, she stood and saw that Ragna was right, they were on a mountain overlooking the army of 300 Risen as they marched onwards towards the settlement. This group not only composed of foot soldiers, but mounted horse riders and flying units. "I'm surprised your arms didn't fall off from all of the walking I did," Ragna said to Marth after glancing over the forces.

"Well now do you see why we need my father and the others?" Marth said, gesturing to the Risen and making a face, that plainly said, 'I told you so.'

"Not really, I was honestly hoping for more Risen than this," Ragna said as he unslung _Blood-Scythe_ , much to Marth's bewilderment. He was about to head to meet the army before he caught a glance of a small group travellers. "That ain't good."

"What's wrong?" Marth asked as she glanced to where Ragna was looking. "A trade caravan this far east? Why are they out here?"

"Look closer, that's not a trade caravan, those are refugees," Ragna told her. "And it looks like the Risen are heading right for them… looks like I'm going to change up my plan a bit."

"So you had a plan after all," Marth noted. "And what was it?"

"Go right down the middle and keep slashing until no Risen are left standing" Ragna said seriously, causing the young woman to deadpan. "Actually… I might just stick with that. Can I count on you to protect the convoy from any Risen that decide to go for the easy targets?"

"I suppose…" Marth told him. "But do you actually intend to take on all of those Risen all by yourself? It seems suicidal."

"Then you don't know me," Ragna told her before running down the hill. Once he was close to the Risen he leapt into the air and poured energy from the _BlazBlue_ into his sword. With a roar he brought the blade down, creating a powerful burst of darkness that sent a large section of the Risen flying.

"Still not back up to full," Ragna groaned as he looked at the large crater he'd created. Several of the other Risen were covered in the large clumps of snow he'd sent flying, so much so that some even fell over. A thief type Risen let out a snarl and headed for Ragna, his sword held in a backhanded position. Ragna switched his sword so that he held it with his left hand as he transformed his _BlazBlue_ into a claw of darkness and impaled it into the thief.

The monster went limp after the implement and while the Reaper began to absorb the dark energies from it several other Risen came from behind to attack him. Still gripping onto the thief, Ragna cleaved through the attacking Risen before flipping his sword around and stabbing behind him impaling the Risen that was trying to sneak up on him.

As the Risen on his claw fully dissolved into dark energy, the flying unit from above started to dive at him. Ranga dodged the diving attack from one of the Pegasus riders before retaliating with a _Thunder_ spell, which was still powerful enough to slay the creature. As a wyvern rider attacked him, Ragna changed his strategy by leaping onto the creature and taking out the rider before leaping to the next one and disposing of that one as well. He continued jumping from rider to rider until he was high in the air above the risen.

" _ **Nightmare Edge!**_ " Ragna shouted as he brought his sword down and dived towards the ground, cleaving through the few remaining flying unit and cutting down the risen below him. He then sent out a wave of darkness wiping out even more Risen.

' _Just what is he?'_ Marth thought as she stood between the refugees and the rapidly decreasing Risen force. She stood at the ready with her sword drawn, to prepare for the usual onslaught of Risen that she'd had to fight through time and again in a hopeless battle to defend both herself and those she had put under her protection, but no monster seemed to escape the Reaper's sword.

A few horseriding Risen broke away from the combat and rode to slay her and the refugees. Marth prepared her sword to strike the beasts, but a sudden flash of steel cut the riders clean in two. The swordswoman expected Ragna to have activated a spell, but instead she saw his weapon had changed from sword to scythe, now completing his image of the Reaper. With one final swing of his weapon, Ragna cleaved through the remaining ranks of the Risen, ending the battle with ease.

"Now I've seen everything," Marth said to herself, as she saw Ragna reset the scythe to its form of a sword, equipped it to his belt, and approached her. "You just slew over a hundred Risen."

"Yeah, sorry, did you want to tackle a few yourself?" Ragna asked with a small smirk.

"I suppose I would have liked to participate in the battle and aid, but I'm more than content that they're finished," she told him.

' _She didn't pick up that was a joke?_ ' Ragna thought to himself, a little concerned. "How are the refugees?"

'They seem to be all accounted for, but they're still gripping their spears… I'll be honest, I didn't know that these Risen were on the verge of attacking these people so I guess you were right to leave early."

"I guess I was," Ragna told her before focusing and using his newly acquired _Risen Radar_ ability. "I'm not sensing any Risen nearby so I guess the refugees are safe to go the rest of the way to the next town."

"I certainly hope so, but just to be certain I may trail them for a distance, just to make sure."

"If that's what it takes kid," Ragna said before cricking his neck. "I'm going to head back to the camp, I guess I'll see you around."

"Farewell Ragna," she told him with a nod as the two went their separate ways.

 _ **Plegia**_

A Sorcerer's battle within the Grimleal is a strange thing indeed, much different than Regna Ferox's duels or Ylisse's Sage tournaments. Not only are these battles to the death, but the presentation is also very different. The battles are free-for-all, again only over once there is only one survivor. Pre-battle alliances can be made, but they are not expected to last long and have often led to early betrayal.

Participants are required to wear only black cloaks and loincloths (although women are permitted to wear addition fabric to cover their breasts). This is used both as tradition and to discourage any forms of cheating via sneaking weapons in. Speaking of weapons, no tome, staves or other magic items can be used. Participants must cast magic by their own power, not of an object's.

The ability to cast Dark Magic by natural means have been used to determine certain leadership role in the cult, but the ability is rare and even some of the most qualified and practiced dark mages can suffer difficulty in casting the simplest of spells. The reason that this rule is so important is because many people feel that those who are strong with this ability are chosen by Grima and should be treated correctly.

Currently the four participants stood in each a corner of the large hall that was to be used in their battle. Pharos was having trouble averting his gaze from the stranger Minos who had the hood he'd requested to come with the cloak covering his face. From what Pharos could see under the coat's opening, Minos had looked like he'd already been through death several times. Horrible scars and burns covered him and there were few parts of him that appeared to be unmarred.

"Are we going to start this or not?" Matthew Nightcrawl asked in a rather bored manner. He was wearing the same outfit as the other men and seemed to be growing impatient.

Three masked priests of Grima stepped towards the room entrance where they stayed standing to proctor the fight. The priest on the right's hands began to glow with purple flames, signaling the start of the battle.

Pharos glanced around in as his opponents as he readied his himself for the fight to take place. Now that a battle was about to start his perception was one high alert, but it seemed like he was the only one. He couldn't see Minos's face, and by his power of persuasion he exhibited earlier it made sense for him to be calm, but the other two were another matter. They weren't battle mages, they were politicians, unprepared for combat.

' _They seem awfully calm for a fight to the death, but why?'_ Pharos thought to himself as his face started to give off small beads of sweat. _'Have they formed an alliance to kill me? Knowing them perhaps… but still…'_ The second priest (the one on the left) had their hands became encased in purple flames.

" _To think you'd use rare Drakeblood drugs to heighten your spiritual abilities,_ " Minos spoke from under his hood. " _They may not be explicitly outlawed in this combat, but it should beneath even you_."

' _Drugs?'_ Pharos thought to himself as the middle priest activated their own purple fire. Sure enough, he could see the bloodshot after effect in Tridala's and Matthew's eyes. While the boost to ability was substantial, Pharos was more assured from this development and allowed himself the smallest of smiles. ' _And I was worried that they'd actually have a good plan._ '

 **(Cue Darksouls III** Nameless King **)**

"Begin!" the priests shouted as one.

Matthew and Tridala immediately went on the offensive, blasting at Pharos was bolts of fire and lightning. Pharos dove to dodge the attacks before sending a fireball spell of his own at Matthew. The fat man shielded his face with his hands as the attack tore at his flesh. The drugs ensured that it was not a mortal attack through spell resistance, but Matthew's fatty flesh began to become torn.

"Damn it to hell Tridala! Kill him!" Matthew shouted as he gripped his bloody arms. The corrupt Sorceress charged a spell of dark wind blades, but smirked as she pointed the palm of her hand at Minos.

"Deal with him yourself! This easy target's mine!" Tridala said with a dark grin as she fired the blades at Minos. The hooded figure did not try to avoid the attack, but it mattered naught for the magic shattered like glass the moment it touched his skin. "W-What?"

" _That is really the extent of your abilities_?" Minos questioned, causing Tridala to growl in anger as she charged a giant fireball of darkness. " _I could have killed you over twenty times with how slow you're performing_."

"Silence!" she roared as she blasted him with the flames of darkness. Minos again made little effort to dodge as the attack consumed him.

Pharos meanwhile was looked in a duel with Matthew. While Matthew's drugs had put him at a higher level of magic potential, he didn't have the training or combat abilities that Pharos had acquired on the battlefield. The two sorcerers sent out blasts of dark lightning at each other and the spell collided and disbursed. Shrieking at the closeness of the blast, Matthew tried his hardest to channel his next spell, but before he could cast it he was shredded by a quickly charged dark wind spell from Pharos.

"Gah!" he screamed as he fell to his knee, deep gashes covering both his arms and his chest. Pharos began charging a spell of purple flame in his left hand. "Please don't kill me! I-I stand down! I stand down! You can have the seat! JUST DON'T-!"

The word's fell on deaf ears as Pharos's spell blasted him in the chest full force, causing Matthew's chest to erupt send gushes of blood and bits of organs all over the floor. The corrupted man for gave one last bloody gurgle before falling forward, dead before he hit the ground.

"Now there are only two," Pharos heard Tridala say as she charged black lightning, the dark flames still burning around Minos. "A pity I couldn't kill that fool myself, but you may prove to be more of a challenge."

" _Have you already forgotten about me_?" Minos spoke coldly from the flames. A single powerful wave of his arms caused the dark inferno to disperse. Tridala growled and continued to charge her lightning as the hooded figure spoke to Pharos. " _This will only take a moment, do you mind waiting_?"

"I do not," Pharos told him with a nod, still standing ready should either opponent attack him.

"You shouldn't keep your eyes off someone who can kill you!" Tridala yelled as she moved to cast her spell. A sudden sharp piercing sensation to her left leg made her lose focus and she screamed as the spell misfire. Looking down in ire and pain she noticed an arrow through her left leg, but this was no ordinary arrow, this was made of pure dark energy. "W-What?"

" _ **I told you that it took too long to perform your spells**_ ," Minos told her before waving his hand, conjuring another arrow in the arrow and sending fly at her. Tridala tried to dodge the attack, but with her crippled leg it was no use; the arrow impaled her other leg and sent her falling to back.

"What is that style!?" she demanded with a pain filled scream.

" _ **This is the**_ **Ancient** _ **Style of Grima's Magic, dating back long before the Hero King was born. As I said before, your so called gift are no match for Grima's true chosen**_ ," Minos said as he formed a throwing dagger in hand and flung it. " _ **Perish fool**_."

The magic blade stuck home, impaling itself in Tridel's forehead. As the woman hit the floor and died, Minos turned to Pharos.

" _ **Now then, show me your true power**_!" he shouted as purple flames appeared under his hood where his eyes should be. Pharos quickly send a single blade of wind at his opponent, but Minos created a longsword of Grima's flames and broke the spell before approaching on the offensive, much faster than what should have been possible with skin as rotten and abused as his.

Pharos dodged the initial sword strike, but a knife Minos formed in his free hand cut him at the arm. He grunted as he sent out a hastily created fire spell, but Minos reformed his spells to create a shield that absorbed the blow before using it to bash him backwards. As Pharos stumbled backward, Minos quickly transformed his shield into a spear and lunged forward. The High Sorcerer leapt into the air and sent a wave of dark energy towards the ragged man, but the attack didn't harm his target in the slightest.

' _My spells are doing nothing against him, how are his defenses so powerful?'_ Pharos thought as he landed. ' _Is he toying with me? He barely seems to be using any effort!'_

Minos changed his magics to construct a magic to a throwing axe and hurled it at the sorcerer. Phaors cast another ball of purple fire and blasted the axe. Making another swipe with his hand Minos cast three more dark arrows. Pharos managed to avoid the first one, but the other two hit his thigh and right elbow. As his opponent grunted in pain, Minor conjured a spear and moved to throw it like a javelin.

' _This is my last chance!_ ' Pharos thought as he gathered all of his magic prowess. " **GRIMA'S TRUTH!** " It was Validar's main spell and even he hadn't been able to use it without a tome assisting him. The explosion of darkness that followed hit Minos at full force, but as Pharos began to sag, the spear jetted out from the flames and impaled him in the rib cage.

 **(End Theme)**

Pharos yelled in pain as his body was wracked with terrible pain the spear dissolved. Losing the last of his strength he fell to his knees. His eyes and ear rang from the force of his own magic, he'd cast one of the most powerful spells in the world without the use of a tome, but it hadn't been enough.

" _ **You had resolve, you had training… but I'm afraid you still fall short against me**_ ," Minos said as he walked directly in front of his victim. " _ **Had you chosen differently you could still live on in the cult… I am sorry it ended this way.**_ "

Using Grima's powers he created his final weapon, a black and purple scythe that pulsed with energy, and raised it above his head. As he was about to perform the Coup De Grace paused seeing that his opponent did not even flinch. In fact…

" _ **Why are you smiling?**_ "

"I… I have no regrets… You've proven to be the better man… the one Grima chose to lead… so lead on… and bring back our dark lord… " Pharos said though he was weakened and bleeding. As a last rush of strength he flung out his arms and yelled to the heavens. " **LORD GRIMA! I OFFER MY SOUL TO YOU AND THE GRIMLEAL! TAKE ALL THAT I AM SO THAT IT MAY HASTEN YOUR GLORIOUS RETURN!** "

" **...** _ **Magnificent**_ **.** "

The final slash was both clean and quick as Minos removed the Arch Sorcerer's head from his body. Looking at the slumped figure as the man who he could seen as his ally or quite possibly friend, Minos let the scythe of darkness dissolve in his hand with a small feeling of regret.

"You've done well," one of the priests spoke. "On this day you shall be know as our leader, until the day where Grima may chose another."

" _ **Our lord will not,**_ " Minos told them with confidence as he bundled his clothes closer to together to expose less of his horribly scarred skin.

"I'm sorry?" the priest asked, unsure of why the newcomer seemed so confident in his own abilities.

" _ **Grima won't chose another, in fact there may not be another leader after me,**_ " Minos spoke as his eyes became shrouded in flames. " _ **I already know of our dark lord's return, it is approaching rapidly. Soon the world shall quake before him as it did in days long passed and the descendants of the so-called Hero King shall be the first of many to burn in his fire.**_ "

 **Author's Note: Don't own anything here, except for the OC's… three of whom died.**

 **Well that was entertaining, I'd like to think. Minos will be taking Validar's place in his own special new way, adding a bit of a different context to the story. Now for the bonus Omake.**

 _Son of a-_

Ragna laid in his bed at the town inn, getting a well deserved nap in. He'd already made breakfast earlier today for all of the Shepherd's, sparred with them, practiced his spell work, snuck out and wiped the floor with a couple of Risen, more training, and now it was his time to take a nap before dinner.

"Yo Ragna, you in?"

' _Of course, right when I'm about to doze off,_ ' Ragna groaned to himself as he got out of bed and opened the door. "What do you want?"

"Hey, c'mon don't be like that, just wanted a word," Kagura said, giving Ragna that shit-eating grin that he always hated. "You maybe grab a drink, talk amongst friend, that sort of thing."

"Save the song and dance already, just tell me what you want so I can say no and get back to my nap," Ragna grumbled.

"Hey c'mon, I just wanted to talk alright? Right now (as depressing as it is) you're the only guy in this world that I know."

"So what, you want a friendship bracelet from me?" Ragna vented. "You got two minutes, then I'm slamming the door in your face and hitting the sack."

"Hey c'mon, what'd I do to deserve this? So sure we might have some rough history, but it can't be that bad right?" Kagura said with a guilty smile."

"Is that so? Well back in my world I distinctly remembering you telling me 'You're going to die a virgin' RIGHT before I had to fight the Imperator and Terumi!" Ragna shouted at him.

"C'mon I was just trying to boost your confidence, give you something to live for," Kagura defended.

"I had plenty to live for!"

"Well we both know that's not entirely true, otherwise you wouldn't be here," Kagura said with a sigh. "Didn't you even tell everyone you were going to live in solitude?"

"That was for everyone's own good! And the only reason I jumped into the Cauldron was to finish Terumi!" Ragna took a deep breath to get his nerves under control, something he was starting to get better at as of late. "So what did you come here for anyways?"

"For help I'm afraid," Kagura admitted with a sigh. "I gotta ask Ragna, how the heck are you so popular here?"

"Popular?" Ragna repeated in surprise.

"You can't be that oblivious can you?" Kagura groaned.

"Well since I have literally zero interest in gossip at all, I guess I am," Ragna told him crossing his arms.

"Come on in the Shepherd's always seem to come to you for help or advice, and you're already on good terms with anyone. Not to mention you even get us new members from time to time. And when we're in the village I notice you can't help but get stared at by *ahem* the _occasional_ maiden."

' _So that's what he's getting at,'_ Ragna thought to himself before realizing what Kagura was implying and giving off the smile of wolf that just corned its prey. "Oh man Kagura, are you really doing this? Is this really happening, 'cause I sure hope it is!"

"Doing what? What are you talking about?" Kagura questioned, but he was so defensive that Ragna could see that he was on his last ropes.

"You, the legendary _Black Knight_ Kagura, is coming to me, the most wanted bounty in history, for advice on picking up chicks?" Ragna said with a laugh as the shiver on Kagura confirmed he'd been found out. "I never thought this day would come! Now I really wish they'd already invented the camera!"

"Y-you're crazy! I didn't come to you for that! I just wanted… help getting along with the Shepherd's better," Kagura said.

"Yeah, getting along with all of the girls more like it," Ragna said with a smirk. "Seriously man, how hard did Sully kick your jewels? I thought I heard them pop!"

"... Are you going to help me or not?" Kagura decided to ask, hoping that Ragna would quit with the jipes he was used to giving.

"All I can say is give it time or try something out that can make you stand out," Ragna told him. "Like when I got here, first thing I managed to do was save a town from bandits."

"Stand out huh?" Kagura said thoughtfully before smirking. "Think I've got an idea."

"Good for you," Ragna muttered as he was about to make his way into his room. "Now to get back to my nap." In that next moment Kagura had grabbed Ragna by the scruff of his collar and shoved his back against the wall. "What the hell is this?!"

"I think we're a little overdue for our 'rematch' isn't that right Ragna?" Kagura said as he held Ragna in place.

"What the hell are you getting at? I wanted to take a nap dammit!" Ragna shouted at him.

"Way I see it if your reputation's so great what would that make the guy who beats you down? I win against you in a fight, that'll make ME the new alpha."

"That's your game?" Ragna growled as he grabbed Kagura's arm and pushed him back. "You know what? I don't give a shit what you're trying to do, I'll kick your ass any day!"

"Then it sounds like we got a fight!" Kagura shouted with triumph before realization dawned on him. "Just one request."

"What is it now?" Ragna groaned.

"No uh… no nut shots while we fight, okay?" Kagura seemed to be begging for this.

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Kagura Mutsuki**

 **Well that's Kagura being Kagura. Now let's move on the the review responses.**

 _RedRat8_ : They'll live… I hope.

 _Greyjedi499t_ : Well here you are, with a few new characters to the mix.

 _Kalakauai_ : I already have a plan coming up.

 _EternalCobra34_ : A cleaver review is always a pleasent surprise. I'm always up for a bit of wit.

 _warrior of six blades_ : Another long review works for me.

 _Shikyo no Kyoufu_ : Yeah, he may have a bit of a temper, but he's been described as 'the guy who'll take the bullet for you before kicking the crap out of the shooter.'

 _The Bag of Holding_ : True I've got a bit to worry about, but I'll manage. Also, it wasn't a poll it was SURVEY. I wanted to see where everyone stood, but in the end I had the final say, hence why I came to that decision.

 _Mugen7_ : Hmph, another long reflective review. I hope you're enjoying the story thus far.

 _Adv_ : Thanks for the support.

 _Marconator360_ : Let's hope, the poor guy's been through enough as it is.

 _Beggar_ : I guess it all hinges on how closely I decide to follow the canon.

 _Sugouxxx_ : We already talked via PM, but I hope you can still enjoy my decision on the story.

 _Leekz01_ : Certainly food for thought, but I think I can figure something out. Things will work out in the end.

 **Until next time everyone, Ciao!**


	19. Splitting Up

_First off, I apologize for the confusion that I caused with the early update. I noticed that a chapter was missing for some reason, so I tried to correct it resulting in an unwanted update. Second, I'm actually going through my previous chapters and editing them, so be on the lookout for that. Third, I'll be doing a small quip before the Bonus Omake, so don't confuse that with the BlazBlue Support Convo. Enjoy!_

 _ **Chapter XIX: Splitting Up**_

' _Damn it all to hell, maybe I have taken it too far,_ ' Ragna groaned to himself as he slowly treaded on the snow covered ground towards the distant city. It was the next morning and Ragna had arrived late to the camp last night. So late in fact that Ragna, stubborn as ever, decided that he'd spend it training his magic, not bothering to even try to get any sleep. Now staying awake through several nights with so few breaks had finally yielded its punishment… or so it would seem.

' _I'm so bushed,'_ Ragna thought to himself as he closed his eyes while he walked, struggle to stay awake. He winced at the sudden throbbing at his Grimoire as he began to develop a terrible headache. _'And what's your problem? I've already got enough shit to deal with… Seriously though, this has been silent since I've gotten more control of using it. The only time it's ever spiraled over control was when Izanami caused it to or when it shook with fear before I faced that masked freak. So what's going on now?'_

"Ragna?" Chrom's adression was barely heard by the Reaper as he tried to shake his headache off. "You alright?"

"Just a headache, I'm fine," Ragna grumbled his ire starting to show through. "What did you want?"

"I was trying to tell you that we were getting close to the town for the last minute," Chrom told him, his eyes narrowed in a glare. Glancing around, Ragna realized that they actually were approaching the town gates. His mix of a _BlazBlue_ induced headache and insomnia was making him uncomfortably oblivious, he almost wished he could get into a fight to get his adrenaline running. "You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?"

"Not my fault I couldn't sleep, I tried for Naga's sake," Ragna defended himself.

"Not very hard, I remember Sumia saying that you left your tent and talked with her for a bit. I'm not say that there's anything wrong with talking with a friend, but where I want to know where you went afterwards."

"Just took a walk, it was a pretty boring night," Ragna told him with a yawn as they passed through some travelling caravans on their way to the town's gate, the town guard nodding in respect as they saw Chrom's exalt brand.

"That was hectic last night wasn't it?" one of the caravan members, an old bearded man, said to his family travelers.

"You're telling me," his son said. "If it hadn't been for those two strangers those damned monsters would have gotten us."

"I thought we were already dead," a young maiden in the caravan said to her brother and father. "One moment we were all surrounded, and the next I see a girl dressed up like the Hero King and a swordsman dressed in a red coat with snow white hair who wielded this giant sword like it was nothing and slaughtered 300 of those things with ease!"

' _Shit.'_ Ragna knew Chrom had heard what was just said, and he didn't have to turn his head to look at the prince to know he was being glared at. "...By my standards that's still pretty boring."

"Ragna…" Chrom groaned as he facepalmed. "I'd like to say I can't believe you, but I guess I should have expected this."

"Whatever," Ragna said as he cricked his neck as the two walked through the snow covered town. "So what are we doing in this town?"

"We're only here to grab fresh supplies and then we're heading for the capital of Regna Ferox," Chrom told him. "As much as I'd like to bring a small force to quickly journey up ahead it's too risky and none of us know our way around save for our basic maps. Not even Lon'qu is comfortable enough as a guide and he's the one who's spent the most time here."

"Sounds like a pain," Ragna agreed before hearing crash from a nearby tavern. "This town seems festive; first bar we pass and there's already a fight."

"COME ON YOU LOUTS! IS THAT REALLY THE BEST YOUR MERCENARY GROUP CAN DO!?" came the voice of the West Kahn from within. Lon'qu seemed to take an interest in that as he walked beside the two.

"Guess we found our guide," Ragna told his friend as he was about to head inside.

"Traveller, hold on a second!" The Reaper turned his head and saw that group of travellers from earlier were trying to wave him down.

"I'll go try and talk with Basilo," Chrom told his friend with a small smirk. "Speak with your well deserved fan club and see what they want."

"Brilliant…" Ragna grumbled as Chrom entered the tavern and was left with the travelers.

Upon entering, it was apparent that the mercenary group didn't stand a ghost of a chance against Basilo. The Khan had his arms wrapped around the necks of two of the members who were struggling in vain against his grip while he had his boot planted on another man struggling to get up. Most of the other mercenaries were unconscious with a fair few huddled against the wall in fear. The eye patched Kahn himself was smiling like he was having the time of his life.

Chrom saw one of the mercenaries against the wall become tired on how badly they were being beaten as he pulled out a short sword and ran forward to attack the Kahn from behind. It was cowardly move, and one that would probably sentence the man to execution, but as Chrom tried to shout a warning to his ally the attack was intercepted with a sudden clang as it met steel.

The blade came out of nowhere, but the attacker saw his weapon was being held back by a specially crafted _Killing Edge_ , one that was smaller in width, but had a slight increase to its handle and blade length. The wilder's outfit was almost entirely white, comprising of a white Hamaka top which seemed to have chainmail underneath for extra protection, a white skirt that went slightly below her knees with grey leggings, and a white trenchcoat that went only slightly above her ankles with a Katana sheath on her left hip that seemed to be made of hardened and polished oak like the weapon's hilt. Her pink hair was done in its usual ponytail and braids to keep it out of her grey eyes.

"Who the hell is this wench!?" the would-be attacker said before the swordswoman shoved off the shortsword before flipping her katana around and hilt smashing the man in his throat. As the man lurched and choughed, the woman swept his legs and sent him crashing to the floor.

"Thanks for the save Olivia!" Basilio shouted as he looked down at the mercs in his arms. "Now what do I want to hear?"

"Uncle! Uncle! UNCLE!" they shouted together. Not one to be cruel, Basilio let the two go with a laugh.

"Maybe next time you think about calling the Kahns dusty old relics you'll remember what happened when one of us was there to hear it!" he said, also letting the man under his feet retreat. As the mercenaries retreated he caught sight of Chrom and Lon'qu. "Ah, the crowned Prince of Ylisse himself and my old right hand man! What brings the two of you to these parts!?"

"H-Hello Basilio," an unnerved Chrom said as Lon'qu gave a passive nod to the two. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Well technically I'm not supposed to be all the way this far east," the Khan admitted. "There was supposed to be a battalion of Risen that'd been causing trouble and I wanted to see if I couldn't handle them. Though what I've heard from some travellers they may have been already dealt with." Chrom rolled his eyes. "That damned council though… they don't want to send more troops out, they want to bring them back to the capital!"

"Typical for them," Lon'qu agreed. "Then how did you manage to leave?"

"Well Flavia had a word with them and she convinced them to send me out on a small recon project. Unluckily for them I got 'sidetracked' when hiring some men!" The Kahn let out a large bray of laughter. "But that's nothing new from me!"

"Unlike Oliva it seems," the Feroxi swordsman said as he looked to a woman who he'd almost considered his sister. Outfit and weaponry aside, she seemed to be much more confident, standing straight and not breaking eye contact whenever anyone spoke. "Have you been learning swordplay then?"

"A little more than just learning!" Bailio said with a bray of laughter. "She's been getting tired of the nobel's annoying her for her hand or other things, so she's been talking with her sword now! Any man who wants a chance at courting her has to beat her in a duel and she's beaten how many?"

"Fifteen," Olivia said with a small sigh, wishing that Basilio wouldn't make as large of a deal of this as he already was. "But none of them were particularly good challengers."

"Ha! Modest as always!" the Kahn laughed. "She's a changed woman I tell you, she hasn't shied away at all since your group left! People have taken to call her _The Snow Mist Swordswoman_ or _Lady of the Snow!_ Frankly I'm start to miss the days where I could knock a few nobles in a duel! But then… that brings me back to our first question; What in Naga's realm are you doing here?"

"Well…" Chrom was about to begin when the door was slammed open by a certain annoyed Reaper.

"Jeeze, I can only standard to be thanked so many times," Ragna grumbled as he entered the tavern with slight ire, trying to shake some of the snow out of his hair.

"I hope you weren't rude to them," Chrom said to his friend with a slight glare.

"No more than usual," the Reaper told him. "Hey Basilio, it's been awhile. Oliva… you seem to be the same as always."

Basilio was about to call Ragna daft or worse, but when he looked to Olivia and saw the she seemed to be acting quite a bit smaller. Her face was crimson, her eyes refusing to meet Ragna's, and she seemed to have brought her arms closer in protection like she used to.

"H-hello Ragna," she said shakily as the Reaper gave her a timid smile. "H-how go your travels?"

"It's been fine I guess," Ragna said with a shrug. "You?"

"I-I've been doing alright," the dancer told him meekly.

The other three men looked from the once confident and now shying Olivia to the man who'd caused her attitude to change back almost instantly, unable to understand what they'd just witnessed.

"...What?" Ragna asked as Chrom, Basilio, and Lon'qu stared at him.

"Excuse me…" the two heard another shaky voice say as they saw the barkeep peak out from behind the counter with three serving ladies. "I… don't hope to be rude, but my bar seems to have suffered some… rather severe damages."

"Say no more," Basilio said as he threw a large sack of coins to the man which landed on the counter with a thud. The man opened it, his jaw going slack as instead of the copper he'd been expecting, the bag was filled to the brim with silver pieces. "Now… how about setting us up with a warm round of mead?"

"Y-yes milord," the barkeep said as he started his business up again and hastily grabbed the coin he'd been given.

The rest of the Shepherd's piled into the bar, everyone now enjoying a nice mug of mead… well almost everyone, Virion spent most of his time hitting on the serving ladies with some success. Sadly the good mood wasn't to last as Chrom began telling Basilio the tale of why they'd traveled this far. The Kahn was silent as he listened to the plight, only speaking once or twice for confirmation while Ragna, Lon'qu, Frederick, Robin, and Olivia sat with them at the round table.

"So essentially," he began, "You need someone to guide you back to the capital as fast as possible so that you can consult Flavia?"

"Yes," Chrom told him. "If we leave now and only take our mobile units, how long with it take?"

"Day at most," the Kahn told him. "Just give me someone with a horse and the rest of the unit can follow a day behind us… unless you want to see if you can't stop the Risen in the area."

"About that…" Chorm began looking at Ragna. "I think they were already wiped out by Ragna and Marth."

"Really?" Basilio said as he glanced at Ragna. "All I heard was some idiot managed to take on three hundred risen and managed to get out of there alive!" The Reaper rolled his eyes while sipping down his mead. "I also heard about a blue haired someone, but that was supposed to be a woman." The Kahn shrugged as he began to down some mead.

"Actually…" Frederick began. "We've done some work and it seems that this Marth is in fact a woman."

The news prompted a sudden spray of mead for Basilio's mouth to the one sitting directly across from him on the table, who of course had to be Ragna. He blinked twice, not sure what to make of the alcohol he was covered in before wiping his face on his sleeve.

"Thanks for that," he grumbled, as Olivia giggled from beside him. "What're you laughing at?" He smirked in slight amusement as the swordswoman blushed and turned away.

"So the Risen are already wiped out," the Kahn spoke, getting back to the matter at hand. "All right, I'll escort you and a small force of cavalry men to the capital and the rest can stay till tomorrow morning. If the slow force moves now they'll get caught in a blizzard halfway there, but the mobile unit can beat it if we hurry."

"Works for me," Ragna said as he finished wiping himself off. "So who am I riding with?"

"You're staying here," Chrom ordered. "If you keep going like this you could get yourself killed with insomnia. As your commander I'm ordering you to stay here and get some rest until tomorrow."

"I can sleep on a horse," Ragna argued back, but Chrom didn't budge. "Emm wanted me to look out for you and Lissa didn't she?"

"And how can you do that if you need to fight off your own exhaustion?" Chrom argued back. "You're turning into a second Frederick, but at least he knows when to rest!"

"Tch, fine…" Ragna grumbled. Honestly the Reaper was starting to become concerned as his arm gave another painful pulse and his head throbbed in response. _'Damn it, what the hell is wrong with this thing? It's never acted like this since I got here...'_

 _ **Meanwhile**_

' _So this is what death feels like,'_ a voice thought to itself in the eternal blackness. _'To think I've failed so easily… but that man's powers, I've never seen anything like it… Who was he? And what were his ties to our lord? ...Not that it matters now I suppose.'_

" _ **Your time has yet to come Phineas Rosark,**_ " a powerful voice spoke. From out of the darkness came a dark figure shrouded in purple flames. " _ **I have designs for you yet, as does my Herald. You must remain vigilant.**_ "

' _What are you?'_ the voice thought before realizing what had been implied. ' _Master Grima? How is this possible_?"

" _ **My influence, my power, my very being has become stronger, allowing me to communicate with a select few who have died. To think that I would have such a prominent and dedicated figure to the Grimleal… you do our order proud, warrior.**_ "

' _I-I thank you my lord, but I regret that there is nothing I can do now that I have died. Perhaps Minos was right, perhaps I could have served the order in a higher regard if I'd just stayed silent at the call to lead._ '

" _ **Do not feel shame. Unlike those pathetic pretenders, your path was decided by your honor, so take pride. I am to gift you with my most powerful blessing, receivable by only a select few, the chance at another life. Go now, and return to the land of the living to serve me again.**_ "

" _But my lord-!_ "

His cry went unanswered as the dark void around him suddenly transformed to a white blinding light. A terrible burning sensation in his chest told him that he was suffocating, and as he opened his mouth a torrent of burning wind entered his very being. His entire body has that sharp pain covering it, like when a part of your body as fallen asleep.

" _ **Behold the gift of our lord!**_ " He recognized that raspy voice. " _ **Though he died in fair combat, Grima he seen this man as fit to a second life in the service to our order! Hail the fell dragon and his gift the High Sorcerer!**_ "

"HAIL GRIMA!" a large collection of voices shouted.

Phineas continued breathing heavily from where he lay on the bench as his eyes began to focus and he got his bearing. He was in one of the Grimleal sacrificial chambers lying on what would have been one of the table for sacrificing offering, still dressed in the robe and loincloth he'd died in. Though it pained his senses, he slowly moved his hand to his neck and felt… nothing. No stitching, no left over wounds, it was like his head had never been severed

" _ **Servants,**_ " Minos spoke with authority. He was wearing the same robe he'd first arrived in, but they seemed to have been properly mended. " _ **Bring this man some food and drink. He has earned that much after dying for our order.**_ " Several young members nodded and left without hesitation or question. The enigma then looked at the revived man, or rather his hood faced him. " _ **Welcome back Pharos, we have much to discuss.**_ "

 _ **Regna Ferox**_

Ragna yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he awakened from his nap in the tavern's inn rooms. The Shepherd's mobile force had already left while he was asleep, and were well on their way back to this kingdom's capital. The ground consisted of Frederick, Sully, Stahl, Sumia, Cordelia, and Maribelle as mounts with Chrom, Lon'qu, Basilio, Robin, Miriel, and Lissa riding with them respectively (Lon'qu was trying not to get too close to Sully as they rode). Though he'd only been asleep for two hours he was already feeling much more refreshed, no small part of that because his _BlazBlue_ had stopped throbbing and giving him a headache.

' _Was all I needed to keep this thing happy a nap?'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'Doesn't seem like it should have, but what else could it have been?_ '

Deciding that he'd grab some more Z's in a moment, Ragna decided he'd take a walk around in the crisp air before heading back. Seeing as there was no one outside of his door, Ragna allowed himself to slip outside and started headed into the outside. He debated whether to head further into the city, or to head outside the walls.

Looking outside the town's borders, he noticed the form of a massive bunny as it curled underneath the trees. Trying to stay warm amidst the cold.

 _Closing A Gap_

"That looks like Panne," Ragna said to himself. "What the hell is she doing outside the city? It's freezing out here, even if she does have that fur."

Letting his conscious get the better of him yet again, Ragna headed out of the cities borders to the tree where Panne was, as he approached her glowing eyes suddenly opened.

"That's close enough man-spawn," her echoey voice said to Ragna.

"On edge much?" Ragna asked without humor. "Aren't you freezing out here?"

"Cold only bothers a Tagul if they let it, we're made much more resilient than you humans."

"Racial pride isn't going to matter jack-shit if you die out here, have some common sense!" Ragna was getting tired of Panne's attitude fast and it was starting to show.

"Don't you dare judge me!" the rabbit spoke in a more hostile tone. "You have no idea what I've been through! What sense do you have of your home being ravaged by humans, having your loved ones killed in front of your eyes, all while your dying mother tells you to believe in humans!?"

"More than you'd think," Ragna told her as he glared at the rabbit before sighing. "Hey, I'm sorry alright? I lost my temper and I didn't mean to insult you or your race. But you can't just join the Shepherd's and stay on the sidelines the entire time!"

"It has worked so far," Panne told him. "What does it matter to you?"

"I swore to myself that I'd never go through the shit of losing someone again, and you're a member of the Shepherds whether you like it or not," Ragna said. "What can I do to make you trust me?"

"...Perhaps you can answer a few of my questions, there are a few things about you that I find quite curious."

"I guess I can do that, what's the first question?"

"Why do you smell of cat?" she asked him.

"Cat… I haven't seen a cat here in some time…" Ragna said. "I dunno, maybe it was because I spent so much time in early life around one."

"So you owned one as a pet then," Panne concluded.

"...Not exactly," Ragna told her. "My old master Jubei, he was something called a Beastkin and his type was a cat. I spent a lot of time with my master, learning how to fight among other things. He's a good man and I hope he's doing alright."

"A beastkin? I have not heard of that type of creature though you speak as though it actually exists. Where might I find one such creature?"

"Sad to say you can't. Beastkin were something you'd only find back in my world," Ragna said sadly. "But there weren't just cat Beastkin. There were also squirrel ones and even wolf and fox ones."

"...Interesting, but-" A light shone from Panne and she reverted back to her humanoid form. "Damn it," she sighed as she looked at a stone that she carried.

"What's that?" Ragna asked in curiousity.

"It is a Beaststone, an object which allows Tagul to take our bestial forms. It becomes broken if used to much in battle, but I thought that it would allow me to retain this form for some time if I stood still, apparently it needs time to recharge." Though Ragna could tell she was trying hard not to, he could see the Tagul visibly shivering and her teeth slightly chattering.

"Well that sucks," Ragna said before taking his sword off of his weapons belt, alarming Panne.

"Are you going to attack me?" Panne asked as she raised her fists in her last defense battle stance.

"Calm down! Jeeze…" Ragna grunted as he took his red coat off as well and before Panne could object he wrapped it around her. "This'll keep you warm for now, but we should get you to the inn."

"You really think you can do that?" Panne said with doubtful eyes. "They'd never allow my in, much less give me a room."

"I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be," Ragna said, hefting his massive blade and resting it on his shoulder. "Come on, I'm not going to be using my room for awhile, so you can use it for now."

"Why are you being so kind to me?" Panne asked with slight suspicion. "Have I ever done anything to earn this?"

"Well you helped me out in the gardens, remember?" Ragna told her with a small smile, referring to when the two first met. "Plus I kinda have a soft spot for people like you. I mean everyone judges you for what? Animal ears and the ability to transform? They're just jealous, I think it's frickin awesome!"

"You… you what?" Now the Tagul's eyes were widened in surprise.

"Come on, let's get going; you've been out in the cold long enough," Ragna told her as he headed back into town.

"...thank you."

"Sorry what was that? Couldn't quite hear it," Ragna said, though not sarcastically.

"It was nothing, let's go," Panne said, hurrying in front of the Reaper while bundling his coat close to her. Neither of the two could see the other smiling.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Panne**_

Convincing the guards or anyone else hadn't been that hard, in fact they might not have needed convincing. Any who sent them judgemental looks Ragna simply glared at them to frighten them off and that seemed to work. Though when Panne entered the Reaper's room and gave his coat back, Ragna placed a special Ars Magus on the door, just to be safe. This Ars Magus would dispel once Panne opened the door, but wouldn't allow anyone to enter the room until then.

Feeling that the work was done, Ragna decided to head off through town for a relaxing walk. As long as he didn't spend too much time training today, he figured it didn't matter to Chrom whether he was awake or asleep on his time off.

 _A Sticky Situation_

"Going somewhere Red?" Ragna heard a voice ask him. It appeared to be Gaius, someone who Ragna knew was in the Shepherd's, but hadn't talked to long enough to get to know, not long enough to have him memorize his name anyways.

"Just a walk around town, and Ragna," the Reaper told him.

"Eh, Red's easier to say and I think it fits you." Gaius told him. _'Shouldn't Sully or Cordelia_ _get that name?_ ' "Anyways, Chrom told me to keep an eye on you so you don't do anything drastic while we're here."

"Where were you earlier then?" Ragna asked him. "I was out here just a few minutes ago and I didn't see you anywhere."

"What? Really? You just must've not seen me." Gaius defended.

"No, I don't think so, you'd have stopped me if that was the case. Come on, what's the big deal? You had to run to the outhouse?"

"Well, not exactly…" Gaius admitted.

"Come on, what was so bad? I doubt it's anything that big," Ragna said.

"Well I went looking for a candy shop, but I couldn't find an open one anywhere in this town! Are people trying to get out of this place or something?"

"With the recent Risen attacks they might be trying to get closer to the Capital," Ragna muttered. "But a candy shop? You like the stuff?"

"Like? I LOVE candy, anything with sugar in it really," Gaius told him. "What's the matter? You don't?"

"Didn't really have any sweets growing up, so I can't really judge one way or another," Ragna told him.

"Really? That's pretty sad," Gaius told him before grabbing a honey square out of his pack. "Here, go ahead and try this."

"Uh thanks, but why are you giving me candy?" Ragna asked.

"No reason," Gaius said passively.

"You're not trying to bribe me, are you?" he asked again, this his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Are you trying to blackmail me?" the thief asked in return.

"No."

"Then I'm not," Gaius said. "Go on, take it before I have it myself."

"Okay, okay, fine," the grumbled before taking the piece and chewing on it for a moment.

"So?"

"Mot mad," Ragna said, the honey sticking strongly to his teeth and impeding his speech. "Mhts moing mn (What's going on)?"

"Wait that honey square," Gaius remembered before sighing. "Damn it, that was the extra sticky one I won down in the south coast. Probably should have given you one of the lollipops instead… Oh crap, that's going to freeze soon!"

"Mou mstrd (You bastard)!" Ragna swore at the thief or at least the best he could swear with a mouth full of honey.

"Don't worry it should dissolve eventually… Or better yet, I'll be back. Just stick around!"

"Meawy (Really)!?" Ragna groaned as Gaius ran inside the tavern, leaving him outside by himself. Ragna tried his best to cover his mouth and keep the honey from freezing, though looking ridiculous at the same time.

"All right, try this," Gaius said before bringing out a tankard of heated mead. Ragna immediately took the drink and downed it, which immediately warmed his mouth and helped the honey to dissolve. "Better?"

"Yeah," Ragna said, wiping his mouth. "That was humiliating though, I almost had to try and burn it off!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Gaius said in embarrassment and regret. "Hey, I won't say anything about this if you don't say anything about me shirking on my duties watching you."

"Wait… you WERE trying to blackmail me!" Ragna shouted in anger.

"How can you even say that? Do you know how much I wanted that candy piece for myself? That's supposed to be a really rare one!" Ragna was startled as he realized tears were actually starting to form in the thief's eyes.

"All right, all right, I take it back," Ragna groaned. ' _If he's acting this sensitive about a stupid piece of candy he has to be telling the truth._ ' "I think I'll stay away from candy now though, not my thing."

"Eh, if that's your call, more for me then," Gaius told him. "Look as a way of saying sorry how about you promise me that you won't do anything drastic and I won't have to tail you."

"That's fair I guess, and thanks for trying to do something nice I guess."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Gaius**_

Ragna continued walking through town, letting out a slight sigh as he passed by a ground of people gossiping about him as he passed.

"Is that him?" a young man asked.

"He's the one, you can't miss that hair or jacket," an elderly man spoke.

"What about that blade? That thing's massive, it could take down a man and the horse he rode with one swing," a man in his twenties said.

"That's nothing, last night he was wielding it was a single arm and that was before he changed the shape to that of a massive scythe," the elder spoke again. "Those creatures never stood a chance against him against him."

"A scythe? You're joking; it's clearly a sword," a young woman said, rolling her eyes at the elders supposed foolishness.

Deciding he'd allow himself a bit of fun, Ragna took _Blood-Scythe_ off his belt and raised it above his head before pouring seither into it. The crowd and the surrounding villagers watched in awe as the weapon extended a the blade shifted, becoming a scythe with dark energy radiating off of it. Ragna let it stay there for moment before letting it revert back to a sword and clipping it back on his belt.

"It's multi-purpose," he called over his shoulder as he continued walking down the street with a cocky smirk, many people gaping at what they'd just witnessed.

"Just like the legendary Grim Reaper…" one townsfolk member could barely comment.

 _The Legend of the Grim Reaper_

The Grim Reaper… while Minos was the one who judged those who died, he could only directly sentence those who were killed by the dark flames of the Fell Dragon. The other souls still needed to be judged by him through some means and their retrieval fell to the Grim Reaper, Minos's brother. While the Reaper is always the one depicted wielding a scythe while Minos is shown judging with a quill and parchment, both brothers carried a scythe, though the uses of the weapons differed. The Reaper's was known as the _Scythe of Retrieval_ , which he used to capture souls, while his brother wielded the _Scythe of Judgement_ that sentenced those brought before him. Using the weapons these two served their lord tirelessly and without question… or at the very least that was how it used to be.

That changed during a time when Grima terrorized the land, when the Grim Reaper met a young maiden... a princess of the Hero King's lineage.

The Grim Reaper had been ordered to take the soul of the princess's father, one of the old kings. The man had fought against the Fell Dragon his entire life without success and he fell dead from sickness after he'd lost his armies on the battlefield. Through his struggles, Grima's power had overwhelmed him and had damaged the Fire Emblem, destroying the gem Argent and rendering it useless. The Fell Dragon had planned on a special hell for the king's soul; have him experience all of his failures for eternity.

The Grim Reaper was about to take the father's soul without mercy, but the princess stood in his way, begging him to spare the life of her father, recounting the suffering he'd already been put through, and was willing to offer her soul in his place. And through her tears and pleas the Reaper gained a spark of his first emotion; _compassion._

Taking the king's soul in a crystal gem so that Grima might never have it and after retrieving the sword Falchion and the incomplete emblem from his grave, the Reaper took the girl and ran. He ran from Grima and his servants, from Minos his brother, from everything. The two ran for years before finding Naga, the goddess opposite that of Grima's destruction. Seeing the two in their struggle, she turned the Reaper's crystal into a replacement gem for Argent, completing the Fire Emblem once more and allowing the Awakening ritual to be performed to awaken Falchion's true power so that it could slay the Fell Dragon.

But Naga forbade the princess from attempting the ritual, saying the duty lay to another… and at that moment, the Princess went into labor, beginning to bear her's and the Reaper's son.

Though the princess died of sickness before Grima was defeated, her son rose up, completed the Awakening ritual, and defeated the Fell Dragon with the Awakened Falchion. His father assisted him in the shadows and slew his brother Minos using the Fell Dragon's own power. The boy was celebrated, viewed as a hero, and eventually made into a leader; the _First_ Exalt.

His father however, could not survive with his master put to rest. The Reaper began to fade from existence and was on the verge of a true death when Naga came to him and offered him a job of eternity to sustain him. He would watch her Sacred Realm, the home of the virtuous souls who earned a peaceful afterlife in paradise. At the chance to forever see his beloved, he accepted and became the Sacred Realm's guardian and the guide of the righteous souls. That is the tale of the Grim Reaper.

" _ **A truly odd epic wouldn't you say?**_ " Minos asked Pharos as the two sat in comfortable seats in his chamber, still wearing his hood as always " _ **While I've read that story time and again, the ending has never sat well with me.**_ "

"That… was the first time hearing the story," Pharos admitted. The newly revived high sorcerer had recently finished eating and had bathed. Now he was dressed in his usual Grimleal robes that he wore, appearing calm though his brain was flooding with questions.

" _ **Not surprising, the Grimleal hates to tell that story, anything that involves Grima's defeat or puts our master in a negative light really. But that is not what I am concerned with, I only look for the truths of the past for guidance in the future.**_ "

"And that story is relevant to our struggle now?" Pharos decided to question.

" _ **It very well may be,**_ " Minos told him. " _ **Grima has spoken to me recently telling of one who fights with darkness, one who takes the Risen's power as his own when he slays them. This man could be a problem for us, more than even the so called Exalted family. One who takes Grima's power and uses it to interfere with our master, it almost sounds like the Reaper in our story.**_ "

"What are we to do then?" Pharos asked.

" _ **As of right now I am unsure, but I am working to develop an apt strategy. But enough about that, I see that you have several questions. I would very much like to answer them.**_ "

"I suppose for starters I'd like to know just who you are. I'd very much like to know who has managed to take over the Grimleal in a single night."

" _ **That is difficult to explain, but I will tell you this; I have dedicated my life to the Fell Dragon and his resurrection. I have cut away all other ties to my humanity so that I may serve him. His revival and the glory of the Grimleal are my only goals, you have nothing sinister to expect from me.**_ "

' _He's not going to tell me anything more,_ ' Pharos knew. "When you killed me in the tournament earlier did you know that I would be revived? Did you plan on that?"

" _ **No, I knew that your death was honorable and your resolve unquestionable, but I also knew that I needed to heed the rules of our combat. In the end I was surprised when Grima told me that he would bless you to fight on, but I can't think of anyone more deserving.**_ "

"Thank you… but what do you intend to happen now?"

" _ **Our Mad King is a fool, but we must serve him until the end of this wretched conflict. This is our best opportunity to end the Exalted Bloodline and the possible threat of the Reaper; We must take it. As for you… you have been revived by Grima in front of the remainder of our old council and you are already a celebrated war veteran. If you accept, I would very much like to make you my right hand man.**_ "

"...Very well," Pharos accepted. "I shall serve you until the end my lord."

" _ **In that case, I believe a toast is in order,**_ " Minos said, snapping his fingers and ushering a servant to bring them two goblets of a fine red wine. They each took a goblet and Minos raised his. " _ **Let us bring back our dark lord together, let us dedicate ourselves to completing our righteous goal, and let us bring glory to the Grimleal Pharos.**_ "

"To the Fell Dragon," Pharos said as he raised his goblet in return.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained Between Minos and Pharos**_

 _ **Back to OUR Reaper**_

Ragna continued walking through town, gathering the sights as he travelled. Most of the town was dreary and abandoned save for the occassion group of travellers. Some were refugees like he'd seen yesterday, but others seemed to be travelling merchants, exchanging their wares with the townsfolk and even conducting some trades with each other. Through the crowd of merchants Ragna saw a familiar face.

 _A Very Unusual Shopping Trip_

"Hey Anna," he said as he approached the shopkeeper, but upon approaching the shopkeeper he saw that she was dressed fairly differently, now wearing travelling leathers and had a large backpack beside her stall. "Whats with the change of uniform?"

"Sorry, do I know you?" the woman asked him, thought it didn't seem to be in annoyance like she was trying to seem like she'd forgotten him, it generally looked like she didn't know who he was.

"Uh… Ragna, you know? The guy who let you into the Shepherd's? I know we haven't talked that much, but sheesh I was hoping you'd at least remember me a little."

"The Shepherd's? Oh, you must be talking about one of my sisters. We all look a lot alike. So there's bound to be a small mix up."

"Sisters? Wait, is this supposed to be some kind of a joke?"

"Anna!" called a voice exactly like that of the shopkeeper in front of Ragna. Turning his head Ragna, saw an exact duplicate of the woman in front of him save for the fact that this one was wearing the Trickster apparel he'd been expecting.

"Wait, what the..?" the looked from one Anna to another, completely confused what was going on.

"Hey sis, been a while, how are the other Anna's doing?" his Anna asked the other.

"Oh, they've been doing well enough selling wares, but what is it that I hear from this guy? You joined the Shepherds?"

"It was a good deal, I help out a little in combat every now and again and I've protection on the road," she explained before smiling at Ragna. "Told you the Anna family was an actual thing."

"What the hell!? How did something like this even happen!" Ragna exclaimed. "What possesses a woman to have completely identical daughters and name them all Anna!?"

"I dunno… it just sorta happened," the stall booth Anna told him. Ragna slumped his head over and groaned; why did he always have to meet the weird ones? "Hey, interested in buying something?"

"I guess," Ragna muttered before looking up in a questioning look. "But are you sure it's a good idea to be doing this now? I mean the refugees look like they could use this stuff more than you or I could."

"True, but that's why I've been giving them a decent discount to help out," she told him. "And if you're worried about helping them out, a portion of whatever my shop sells is going towards helping them settle into a new home."

"That's the thing about our family of merchants," his Anna told him. "We're proud merchants and can always get a good deal, but we're not heartless swindlers. We're just girls trying to make a living."

"Huh, that's fair I guess," Ragna admitted. "So what do you have for sale?"

"Well what are you in the market for?"

"I dunno, maybe something to help me forget all of the shit I'm going through for the moment, something that can help me relax if you've got anything like that."

"...Hey buddy," the Anna working the stall began seriously. "Our family doesn't sell drugs… EVER."

"Wait, I wasn't-! I didn't mean-!" Ragna exclaimed again before sighing. "Good."

"Nice response though," she giggled. "This guy's reactions alone could sell for comedy sis!"

"I know right," the Shepherd's Anna told her. "You should have seen the ones when I told him about our family in the first place."

"If you two are both done having fun at my expense could you try talking to me about your wares? I didn't come over here to get laughed at," Ragna told them curtly.

"Aw, that's too bad, you might've been able to make a business out of it," the stall owner said with a giggle. Noticing the Reaper growl as he began to lose his temper, she decided it was best to move on. "Well we've got this new product that's becoming really popular with some high ranking and wealthy men. It's like perfume, but men are able to wear it. Couple of spritzes of this stuff on your skin and you won't be able to keep the ladies away." The shopkeeper reached into her back and brought out a brightly colored potion.

"So it's cologne then?" Ragna asked, remembering the stuff from his world.

"Far as I know it doesn't have a name," his Anna told him looking at the potion thoughtfully. Co-logne, cologne… I like it! We can start calling this stuff cologne and make it seem like an exotict foreign ware! Thanks Ragna!"

' _All I did was open my mouth and they made money off of me!_ ' Ragna groaned internally. "This stuff doesn't really interest me, like at all. What else you got?"

"Already think you're successful enough without the stuff are you?" the shop keeping Anna asked before digging behind her stall once more, a visible tick mark appearing on Ragna's forehead. "Well let's see… You know about the Risen right?"

"Yeah, but how can you sell anything linked to them?"

"It's kind of a funny story," she told him before placing a wooden Risen Revenant statue about two feet tall on her stall. "There was this merchant I met a couple of towns back who was selling these as sort of a charm to protect towns against Risen. He was actually just shaming buyers and he was hoping to unload his entire stock and get out of there, so I bought all 300 from him for a couple of gold pieces."

"I ask again, how do you sell these things? You even said it was a scam, no one's going to buy a Risen charm that the owner admits doesn't work."

"Easy, I don't sell them as fake protective charms, I just sell it as dirt cheap firewood! That way the people can get some well needed warmth and also take out some aggression on the things that ruined their lives and I get some money for my troubles."

"...Jeeze, I wouldn't be surprised if you girls could make a cat bark," Ragna commented. "But I think I'm good there, what else is there?"

"Well, even though you use that oversized sword do you dabble in spellcraft?" the stall Anna asked, which earned a nod from Ragna. "Then I've got a pretty rare something for you," she told him before placing a large tome in front of him. "Most mages find this thing useless, it's a tome with records and how-to's of the three main Adept spells; _Arcfire, Arcwind, and Arcthunder._ This teaches you how to cast them, but you won't be able to use it as a medium for casting the spell so you can't use it in battle."

"Actually I'll have a use for it," Ragna told her. "How much do you want for it?"

"Well…" the two Anna's said as one, both scratching their chins in thought. _'Aw crap, now I'm gonna have to barter against both of them.'_

"Tell you what, for that cologne tip and that laugh from earlier I'll give it to you no charge, but would you consider donating twenty gold to the refugees?" the one that owned the both said to him.

"Alright, deal!" Ragna said happily as he fished twenty gold out of his pocket and handed them to the stall owner Anna, who put the gold into a special pouch. "Guess that's all I need for now, take care uh… Anna Two?"

"Hey! None of that numbering stuff buster!" Anna said with a huff as Ragna left with 'his' Anna. "Be sure to come back though!"

"So still have that headache?" Anna asked with a smirk.

"Not really," Ragna admitted, remember what he'd told Anna when he first heard about her family situation. "So that was one of your sisters, she seems a lot like you. Are all of you like that?"

"Essentially yes," Anna told him. "All 52 of us."

"...52!?" Ragna exclaimed. "Is this a joke?"

"Yep," Anna said with a smile, causing the Reaper to give a brief sigh of relief. "The real number is 124!"

"...Dear god…" Ragna groaned as Anna giggled from beside him.

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Anna**_

"I'm going to head off and grab some of my things and try to sell them with my sister, see you around Ragna."

"See you," Ragna said as he looked at the new tome in right hand before that the tome he'd gotten from Emmeryn was still back in his room, and Panne was most likely asleep. _'The spells in the tome Emm gave for me didn't included any of these fancy 'Arc' ones. They only included base forms and 'El' ones. I guess I could try to skip the 'El' section and master these, but after the crap my BlazBlue already gave me this morning it'd be better if I didn't try to risk it until I know what's going on. I think I already learned Elwind, so maybe I can try Arcwind at least?_ '

Ragna once more headed out of town toward the forest towards a clearing. The snow was starting to fall much harder now as the blizzard began approaching the city. Ragna hoped that Chrom had managed to make it to the capital by now, or at the very least was able to escape the snow storm.

Leaning against the tree for a moment, Ragna studied the tome and managed to get a general understanding of the spell's impact, form, and casting technique. His lessons with Mirel and the tips he'd gotten from Ricken had helped him develop a further understanding of magic text, so he didn't struggle with it nearly as much as he did the first time.

"All right then, let's try this out," Ragna said as he closed his eyes and focused, his arm became shrouded in an Elwind spell as he focused. _'Now if I can just change the flow of magic in a certain way…'_ Ragna thought as he tried adding more energy to the spell and force of the winds started to increase. He cast that spell with a vicious fling of his arm, sending a powerful torrent of wind through the air.

' _That wasn't it,'_ Ragna thought to himself. _'The power was there, but I need to work on the form a bit more. At least this stuff comes easier to me than Ars Magus, this'd be hell otherwise._ '

Summoning the energy again, Ragna's arm again glowed with the energies of the wind. Instead of casting a spell the regular way, the Reaper instead tried to compact the spell, make the initial burst seem smaller like in the tome. It took a few minutes, but in the end he managed to get it. Taking a nearby log in his free hand a tossing it into the air, Ragna unleashed the magic on. When the spell made contact, a burst of magical wind blades was unleashed tearing the log into sawdust.

 _ **Spell Upgraded:**_ _Arcwind_ The attack mimics the spell of its name. It is the more powerful version of _Elwind_ , but costs more dark energy. The next level of wind magic, Rexcalibur, cannot be upgraded by practice alone; a usable tome of the spell must be found.

"Alright!" Ragna shouted, clenching his fist in victory. Just to make sure, he channeled the spell through his left arm, so that he would know he could channel it without the _BlazBlue_. Unsurprisingly, he was able to at no additional difficulty.

' _Well there's that done, let's make sure my swordplay is still up to snuff,'_ Ragna said before taking out _Blood-Scythe_. Calming himself, has started making slow and deliberate cuts with his sword, before speeding his attacks while retaining his accuracy. While attacking he worked on implanting Dark Energy in the correct amounts to charge his blade with _Soul Eater_ capabilities or shift it into it's scythe form and change his combinations.

' _So far so good,'_ Ragna thought to himself as he kept making an increase of speed going faster and faster. At the height of his speed though, he made a small error and accidentally imbued the blade with a small amount of Wind magic instead of _Soul Eater_ for a very brief second.

"Dammit," Ragna sword to himself as he stopped swinging stopping the blade with precision. "Messed up the technique…" It was then that the noticed the cut in the tree a small distance away from him. Curious, he examined the cut up close and could see that it'd been a very clean cut and while it was in the direction he'd been slashing with the sword, he wasn't close enough to the tree to do it with his sword.

"Let's try that again," Ragna said to himself as he tried channeling a small amount of wind magic into his sword, giving it a faint turquoise glow. Deciding not to target any of the remaining foliage, he aimed to sword at an open area and gave a vertical swing downwards.

The end result was a blade of energy emitting from his sword, travelling down the open path and causing the ground to be torn up from the bottom edge of the blade. It travelled a good thirty feet before it dissipated.

 _ **Ability Obtained**_ Wind Edge (Channeling Wind magic into _Blood-Scythe_ Ragna can perform a ranged slash to attack units from afar. Despite utilizing wind magic as it's base, this attack does not offer any bonuses against flying units)

"Well… wasn't planning on pulling that off," Ragna muttered to himself as the already cut tree collapsed behind him. At the thought of applying this form attacks to his other magics he became oddly excited. "Maybe I can figure out a way to use this with fire and thunder." But he then took notice of far a fresh set of footprints along the line he'd created. They were heading away from the town and they seemed to be human, or at the very least humanoid.

' _This better not be Panne,'_ Ragna groaned to himself as he followed the footprints. ' _I told her to get warm and not to worry about any of those so called people think about her. How the hell is she planning to survive out in the cold when there's a Blizzard coming?'_

Following the snow tracks for a few minutes he eventually came to a section of foliage just on the edge of a small clearing. On one of the lower branches Ragna found a white trenchcoat hung with a _Killing Edge_ resting against the trunk.

' _Aren't those Olivia's?'_ he thought to himself. _'What the hell is she doing out-?'_

 _The Lady of the Snow_

The Reaper caught his breath when he saw Oliva. She's was dancing in the snow, wearing her hakama, skirt, and leggings, bending and swinging her body in a rhythmic and captivate routine. The snowflakes changed their path as she did, giving her was small, sparkling, flow of white dots while she unknowingly performed for Ragna.

Now our protagonist had never really been one for dancing, he never took it up or watched it in his home world and the one performer he'd met was… a little on the odd side, and to him that was putting it mildly. But watching Oliva, he couldn't help but become captivated. Dancing with her a while ago had been one thing, but actually watching her perform by herself, unhindered by a lesser skilled partner.

"Holy…" he muttered unintelligibly, unable to move from the spot, not that he really wanted to.

Eventually though, Oliva caught sight of him staring at her. She seemed to freeze as she stared at Ragna, her eyes wide in a _deer caught in the headlights_ way. Ragna just stared back at her for a good minute.

"Uh… Hi?"

"Eeek!" Olivia screamed as she tried to cover herself with her arm, curling up her body as she stood, her face instantly turning red in a harsh blush.

"Whoa! Sorry! Sorry!" Ragna shouted as he tried to looked away, a small blush appearing on his face as well. "Didn't mean to stare! I just saw you out here and sorta… got caught up in your dance."

"Y-you were w-watching me!?" Olivia asked him, her face fraught with terror. "Oh gods! H-How long were you watching me!?"

"How long?" Ragna repeated as he continued to look away from Oliva, deciding he'd help her by getting her coat from where she'd hung it. "I dunno, I sort of lost track of time. Is this why you stuck back, to practice your dancing?"

"Ohhhhh…" Olivia moaned to herself, looking like the type of person who only wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Feeling herself get nudged in the elbow, she saw that Ragna was offering her coat back to her. She timidly grabbed it from him and put it on. "Th-thank you…"

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for…" A sudden realization hit Ragna. "Hold up, what am I apologizing for? Didn't I tell you last time to work on your confidence? I mean you gave that one noble what was coming to him."

"Y-yes, you did tell me," Olivia admitted as Ragna handed her back her _Killing Edge_ and she started the adjust the sheath's straps. "And I-I've been working on it; I'm getting better with a sword and I've been fighting off those nobles."

"Really?" Ragna asked slightly incredulous. "No offense, but that's a little hard for me to believe. Every time I see you, there's always that brief moment that you stare at me before caving."

"Th-that's actually more you than me," the dancer told him.

"Me? C'mon, I'm not that scary am I?"

"Well… it's more like you make me nervous…" Olivia explained. "I-It's just that you helped me out a lot and I just don't want to let you down."

"Let me down? How the hell are you letting me down, I just helped you get started. If you want to be less timid just go ahead and do it like you feel like it! Doesn't mean that I'm gonna be angry if you stop trying and do try something else. Just do what you need to and I'll help out if I can."

"Ragna…" Olivia seemed a little less timid now, remembering the man who'd come to her rescue, she'd taught him to dance, and learned swordplay from.

"Come on, let's get back to the city before the blizzard comes through, it's already freezing out here anyways," Ragna told her.

"Wait, what were you doing out here? I was here dancing, but what about you?"

"Just, uh, you know? Going for a walk?"

"In this weather?" Olivia asked, not believing him. "You were training weren't you Ragna?"

"What, training? Out here?" Ragna said, chuckling very nervously. "C'mon that's crazy, why would I have to go out of the city if I wanted to train?"

'Maybe because Chrom said that you were supposed to be recovering?" she suggested.

' _Busted_.' "Well I…" Ragna's attempt to come up with an excuse came unfulfilled as Olivia grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him back towards the town. "Hey…"

"Come back to town with me," Olivia ordered, still clutching his arm.

"Now you decide to be assertive," Ragna said with a smile that half exasperated, half whimsical. "Okay, okay, no need to hold my hand though I won't run off on you."

Blushing a little, the dancer let go of his hand and the two continued to head back, walking shoulder to shoulder instead of either leading. As the walked Oliva caught sight of the long slash that Ragna had made along the ground and the sawdust of the the obliterated log, and a freshly fallen over tree that looked like it had a cut in it.

Ragna noticed where they were passing as well, as well as the angry (though still kind of cute) pout Olivia was now giving him.

"...It was like this when I got here," he defended lamely, earning him a mild punch on his arm.

"Nice try," she said to him completely unimpressed.

Ragna snickered a little which slowly evolved to a small chuckle and Oliva eventually joined in with her own giggle. She hooked her arm in his as they walked back to the town. Just another odd moment between the two.

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Olivia**_

 **Author's Note: Don't own anything, but I'm trying to get this chapter out by the start Friday.**

 **Whew! I wasn't expecting to do a long chapter this time, but I guess that was how it turned out. Lot of stuff happened in this chapter, and I know the lore I'm adding to this MIGHT be a bit of a stretch (I'm giving myself way too much credit though).**

 **Anyways in regard for Pharos's revival, I have this for you.**

Minos (Talking to a servant): _**Place Pharos's body on the ritual altar, and the Fell Dragon shall revive him. He shall be crucial to our plans in the coming days.**_

Generic Servant: Do we really need to bother with it though? I mean he's not exactly that hard to replace.

Minos: _**I doubt that we'd find another like him in this order or another, his dedication to the cause can't be replaced.**_

Generic Servant: But he was well liked by most of the reviewers. Won't he have a long lost twin?

Minos: ... _ **How does that even work?**_

Generic Servant: I mean that trend could replace him. Or you know what? Even someone who's like him in every attitude and appearance, just with a different name?

Minos: _**Why on earth would we have not heard of-?**_

Generic Servant: Or better yet! He can have an angst filled younger son who wants to do his dead father proud and-!

Minos: _**PUT THAT MAN ON THE ALTAR RIGHT NOW SO THAT A DARK GOD CAN GIVE HIM HIS F**KING LIFE BACK! WE LIVE IN A FANTASY WORLD FOR A REASON AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO SOAP OPERA THIS SHIT!**_

Generic Servant: Jeeze fine, go ahead and do things the hard way.

Garos (who looks exactly like Pharos): Does this mean that I'm in the wrong place for auditions?

*Minos growls and throws a knife of Dark Magic which impales itself in Garos's head and kills him*

 **So obviously I had an out if Pharos actually was a popular character. I mean I already told you Validar ain't coming back (and no one wept), so having Grima fully revive this guy instead isn't too unlikely. (Bit of a stretch, but not too large of one)**

 **Anyway's here's why you've really read beyond the Author Note phase for (unless anyone actually reads these things or like it when I respond to reviews), I give you the Omake.**

 _Check-Up_

"I'm telling you I'm fine, there's no reason to overreact over me losing a little sleep," Ragna grumbled as Doctor Litchi Faye-Ling snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, looking for reaction times. The two were in Litchi's tent, which she had used to help set up for the Shepherds. She didn't have as many tools to work with, so most of her strategy was simple analysis and herb remedy.

"Well if Chrom wanted you to get looked over, I'm here to help in any way I can," the doctor told him. "Just sit still and try not to be unbearable with this. With how hard I'm told you push yourself you need to keep your strength up and remember to take a step back every now and again."

"Hmph, that's a little funny coming from you," Ragna bit back as Litchi lifted one of his eyelids.

"True enough…" Litchi said, her face becoming one of guilt as she remembered someone close that she couldn't save.

"...Hey, I didn't mean anything by it, just that I think we're in the same boat," Ragna told her with a sigh. "What happened to your friend, I don't think there was anyway you or anyone else could've fixed him. Don't beat yourself over it."

"Maybe not, but I can't help but wonder if there was something more I could've done for him."

"Well don't let it get to you, I've had to lose out on sleep with thoughts like that," Ragna told her as Litchi looked under the other eyelid. "But what about you Doc? How are you holding up?"

"Well I've done a few tests since I've got here, it wasn't easy to find all of the herbs, but from what I can tell the Boundary's Effect is gone, vanished with no negative side effects."

"Well that's good news, congrats there," Ragna said, Litchi now grabbing some herbs. "That's got to be a weight off right?"

"I suppose, but… without that, it looks like my abilities have deteriorated. I didn't have my staff when I arrived here, and with my other powers weakening there doesn't seem to be much I can do."

"In combat maybe," Ragna agreed as he stretched. "But hey, you're a doctor now right? At least you have something to fall back on. If I wasn't able to fight I don't know what I'd do. Cook maybe?"

"Well no one's keeping you around for you for your sense of humor," Litchi told him with a smile.

"Heh, that's true," Ragna said as Litchi handed him a small pouch. "What's this for?"

"It turns out we already have couple of patients having trouble dozing off. Just boil those herbs before you go down and you'll manage to fall right asleep."

"And side effects that I should know about?" the Reaper asked as he suspiciously eyed the bag.

"None… but I'll warn you now that it tastes terrible," the doctor told him. "I'd recommend holding your nose while you drink to avoid the taste, and drink quickly."

"I got it, I got it," Ragna sighed. "Well thanks for the herbs, I'm going to go get dinner started."

"...We wouldn't happen to have any duck would we?" Litchi asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Litchi Faye-Ling**_

 **Well there's that out of the way, now for the Review responses.**

Warrior of six blades: Easy way to describe Kagura, if it has a pretty face, long legs, and/or a decent top, he'll chase it. And Minos for the record.

EternalCobra34: I wanted to try to keep things as close to the cannon as I could, but last chapter I thought 'what the hell?' so I went all out. Did that this chapter too since responses were decent.

RedRat8: Well I brought Pharos back, since he seemed popular enough.

Marconator360: Thanks, I was worried when I first made Minos that he'd be too much of a Sue, but he seems to be doing alright.

Greyjedi449t: Here it is, and it's a long one.

Kalakaui: We already talked, but I have something different planned than Nights of Azure (haven't really looked into it).

Animeandgamerlover2: Considering this is post… everything Ragna pretty dang strong.

Primus1661: Not any time soon, believe me.

Mugen7: Not exactly the way you had it, but Chrom was still annoyed by Ragna's late night habits. Yeah, at first I didn't care for the Ragna much at first with all the swearing and hatred, but his moments before and after Lambda died confirmed him to one of my favorites. As for the Risen… I see a future Omake team up. Guts the 100 man slayer and Ragna the 300 Risen slayer. And Pharos is back due to demand. As for the 'virginity' insult, you're right in that Ragna wouldn't have been annoyed normal, but if it's KAGURA insulting him with that it takes on a whole new meaning. Good hearing from you.

Taovkool: Dunno about that mate, everyone is more or less okay with it. But I agree, shippings are serious business, especially in my earlier chapters.

 **Until next time! Ciao!**


	20. Bloodedge and Politics

_Pre-Chapter Notes:_ Hey all, sorry this chapter took a while to get out, but I was kind of at a loss what to do for this chapter, but there ARE a few things I'd like to address. First, not a huge change, but I'm taking away that B rank support Ragna has with Elphelt Valentine (for those of you that even remember she's here). The conversation still happened, but it didn't seem like one that they should get a rank up for and it happened WAY too soon. They'll get a real B rank later, so be patient.

Second, in order to give this more of a Fire Emblem feel, I'm going to start assigning Awakening music to the support conversations. You're free to not listen if you'd prefer not to, but I've tried it before with a few of my old chapters and I think this may help.

Without any further ado, enjoy.

 _ **Chapter XX: Politics and Bloodedge**_

As it turned out, Ragna and his group of Shepherds didn't have any encounters getting to the capital when the blizzard finally cleared. Travelling to the capital didn't take long as a result and now they were now resting on a hill about fifteen miles away from the capital.

Ragna was still worried about the events that might be about to unfold, but for now he decided he'd simply bear them in mind and keep training to get even stronger. Currently, while everyone else was resting before they travelled the last of the way to the capital, the Reaper was busy focusing on practicing his fire magic. Practicing with flames as well as providing some extra heat for comfort felt like a win-win for our Reaper.

Ragna was standing with his eyes closed in focus, his _BlazBlue_ hand open with his palm facing upwards as a sphere of flames danced only a couple of inches above it. He'd read the passage on Elfire and was currently focusing on increasing the power while retaining its form. As the flames began to increase in power, the falling snowflakes around the Reaper began to melt, resulting in a small area of rain instead of snow. As the power increased and the flames grew hotter, Ragna the area of rain continued to increase further and further, causing some of the snow on the ground to melt into fire.

' _All right, the power's here, but according to Emm's tome I've got to keep the heat more contained if I want to cast Elfire,'_ Ragna thought to himself as he continued casting. ' _I think I've just about got it…'_

"Hey R-Ragna?" he heard Olivia ask timidly. He let his concentration waver and allowed the flames to die in his hand as he turned to the pink haired dancer. "Sorry to bother you, but I think we're going to have some trouble with Ricken."

"Trouble with Ricken?" Ragna questioned as he followed Olivia; he'd known that Ricken was more than committed to the Shepherd's cause, so he couldn't imagine him doing anything to hold them back. "What'd he do?"

"He, uh, worked a little too hard yesterday," Olivia said as they came to where they found Ricken leaning against a tree, fast asleep. "I was talking to him earlier about this book he'd been reading, and after he said I could take a look at it he said he was going to sit down and well..."

"Just a few more minutes…" the two heard Ricken say drowsily from where he was lying.

"So what caused this then?" Ragna decided to ask, remember that Ricken was normally filled with more energy than most

"From what I remember yesterday I saw him studying his spell tomes," Olivia said before giving a small giggle. "Something tells me he took the 'Ragna' approach to training."

"Friggen' great, Chrom tells everyone to make sure that I get sleep and now one of our mages is down for the count," Ragna groaned. "Promise me that you'll keep this a secret from him?"

"I think the rest of the Shepherd's are going to know what happened, but I won't say anything if you don't want me to," she told him. "But what are we going to do about Ricken?"

"Well…" Ragna began before gently picking Ricken up from behind that and having him rest on him in a piggy-back carry, though as he did it the young mage's hat fell off. "Dang, can you get that for me?"

Olivia nodded as she pick the large hat off from the ground. She considered carrying it herself since Ricken couldn't wear it, but a sudden whimsical thought entered her mind. Reaching up on the tips of her toes she gently put the mage hat on Ragna's head. The Reaper blinked a few times in confusion as Olivia assessed the Reaper's newest fashion statement.

"Doesn't seem to fit you," Olivia told him honestly.

"Says you, I think I could totally rock the style with some mage robes," Ragna told her with a cocky grin. "Let the rest of the Shepherd's know that we're heading out, I'll be take care of Ricken."

"El...fire…" Ragna heard Ricken sleeptalk from behind him as Olivia walked off. The sudden burning sensation he felt, confirmed that the spell had been cast.

"Hot!" Ragna exclaimed from the unexpected heat, but still managed to keep a hold of Ricken. "Great, I spend the last fifteen minutes working with that spell and this kid can roast me with it in his sleep. Then again, I guess it's kind of odd that my arm can do magic in the first place, it's meant for doing Ars Magus, not this tome stuff."

 _Inspiration and Loyalty_ ( **Cue** _But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!_ )

"What happened to the little guy?" Ragna heard Vaike ask as the Shepherds began marching the final stretch of their journey to the capital.

"What's it look like? He fell asleep that's what," Ragna told him as he continued carry the young sleeping mage.

"And you got stuck with carrying him?" Vaike asked before laughing. "Nah, you volunteered didn't you?"

"How do you figure?"

"Well it just seems like the kinda thing you'd do. I mean look at you, overworking yourself and acting like the big brother of the Shepherds. I'm dunno how you could keep going without dropping from exhaustion."

"Lots of willpower," Ragna told him. "Hard to live without it."

"Hey no one's got more willpower than the Vaike; with all my training I'm gettin' even better at fightin', soon I'll even be able to take on Chrom!"

"So wait, do you have a bone to pick with him?" Ragna asked as Ricken continued to snooze.

"Chrom? Nah, he's just sorta my rival. He a damn good fighter, so that makes him someone great to spar with," Vaike said with a laugh. "Plus I really owe his sis, she's the one that convinced me to join the Shepherds in the first place when she actually saw us in the slums."

"So that's your story," Ragna muttered. "I hope she's alright…"

"Eh, well if she ain't then it's up to me and you to come to her rescue." Ragna could tell that Vaike spirits looked like they were a little down, but he was trying hard not to show it. "So try not to get left behind; The Vaike can only do so much himself."

"Heh, you wish," Ragna said with a smug grin, now realizing that Vaike's goofy style of egotism was actually a good way of putting people at ease and keeping their spirits up.

"Oh, and make sure Ricken doesn't fall over, not a good way for anyone to wake up and the poor kid probably needs his sleep."

"And you call me the big brother," Ragna joked with a chuckle. "Don't worry I've got him Teach."

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Vaike**_ **(** End theme **)**

Eventually Ricken did wake up and managed to walk the rest of the way to the capital. Now that they were inside the walls, Ragna could see several war refugees whose village's had been destroyed, all of them standing in lines at their small camps, trying to get food.

' _Why in hell are there so many?'_ Ragna thought as he continued walking through the crowded streets. ' _I can understand a few farming villages getting overwhelmed, but this looks like some of the bigger cities are getting destroyed.'_

While he was travelling shoulder to shoulder with people in the crowded streets he noticed one kid's hand quickly going for his money pouch which kept all of the money he'd made from Chrom. Stopping the child by quickly grabbing his hand Ragna's got a quick glance of what an average kid in this situation was like; filthy, wearing little more than rags, shivering at the cold, and so hungry Ragna swore he could see his bones. The people around him muttered with ire as they went around the two, but the child didn't run it only stared at Ragna with desperate and fearful eyes.

"Don't try this crap with anyone else kid," Ragna grunted in annoyance as he let go of the kids hand and tossed him the money pouch, which the young boy fumbled a bit before catching in surprise, "They're not as forgiving as I am." The kid gave him a small smile before running off, bringing the sack of gold to a group of other raggedy looking kids, each of whom took a share of the gold before running off. ' _This needs to stop._ '

 _ **Flavia's Office**_

"The meeting of nobility is today, I trust that you're ready?" the ruling Kahn asked Chrom.

"I am, but I have a bad feeling I know what to expect," he answered sitting on the chair across from her. Robin stood to Chrom's left, Frederick to his right, and Lissa near the doorway. "Still no news from the south?"

"No, and we've sent messengers and scouts from the day you've arrived and brought us the news," Flavia said with a sigh before smirking confidently. "Can't say I'm a fan of her pure non-violent ideals, but after what she's gone through I'm going to love to meeting her."

"I'd love nothing more than to arrange that gathering," Frederick assured. "Getting there may be difficult I'm afraid."

"We'll do all that we can, any support I can give in the court I will… but these nobles won't move. My men might be better trained and smarter because of their loyalty to me, but most of the armies of Regna Ferox are united under whatever lord they serve because of their loyalty to gold and alcohol."

"I hear that's a common way of purchasing loyalty lately," Robin noted. "I wish we-"

The tactician was interrupted as the door was suddenly slammed open sending Lissa sprawling to the floor. Everyone's favorite snow-hair annoyance walked through the doorway he'd just made open with his foot.

"I got some damn sleep, happy now?" Ragna demanded before noticing the princess that was lying on the ground. "Lissa? What are you doing on the floor?"

"You knocked me over!" she shouted at him as she stood. "Can't you at least knock on the door before entering a room?!"

"Sorry princess, I was hoping to do that to Chrom," Ragna said with a small chuckle and Lissa slowly began to giggle with a smile of forgiveness.

"She already pulls enough pranks without you giving her any ideas," Chrom told him, though he seemed slightly amused. "How was the trip?"

"Boring," Ragna told him, before realizing the still questioning look the prince was giving him. "Boring by _anyone's_ standards Chrom, not just mine."

"I'm sure you've still got a tale or two of your own to brag about," Flavia commented. "But I heard that you'd wiped out the final army of Risen, almost completely alone. Is it true?"

"It is," Ragna assured. "There were about three hundred of them, it think, and there seemed to be a lot of different types of them; some foot soldiers, some riders, and some mages."

"The original size of the force was a strong five hundred, and we've only managed to wear them down after our towns were ruined," Flavia said with sigh. "At least the threat is gone."

"So it should be easy from here right?" Ragna asked.

"Not necessarily," Chrom said sadly. "Flavia's going to need men to stay in Regna Ferox in order to defend against a Risen attack, men that we won't be able to use to defend Ylisse. But after the recent Risen attacks, most of the ruling nobles want to bring their armies to the capital and wait out the war. So we need to be able to get the troops we need to protect our homeland but keep enough in Regna Ferox."

"Politics, ugh," Ragna groaned. "Not my strong suit…"

"Don't worry, this isn't anything I think you can help with," Chrom told him. "Go explore around the capital if you want, buy something nice."

"Yeah, sure, I'll do that," Ragna grunted, before remembering he'd just given his gold away. _'Meh, not like I really wanted to buy anything anyways.'_ "Anything else I should know about?"

"As of right now, no," Flavia said before standing. "The meeting will start in an hour, be sure that you're ready."

 _The Knight's Decision_

( **Cue** _Such Bonds are the True Strength of this Army_ )

Leaving the Khan's office, Ragna headed down the hallway to return to the street of the capital, though he was unsure what he'd do once he was there.

"Ragna, a moment?" came Frederick's voice from behind. The Reaper turned to the Great Knight. "We need to talk."

"What'd I do this time?" he groaned, expecting some form of lecture.

"Plenty, but that's not what I'm here for, I need your help," Frederick said. "And for the record it wasn't easy to come to this decision."

"If you're coming to me for help, I'll bet," Ragna acknowledge, figuring he'd hear the knight out. "So what is it you need?"

"I need you to come with us to the council meeting."

"...Heh, not bad, you almost had me going there," Ragna said with a very small chuckle. "Maybe you can tell a joke after all."

"I wasn't joking," Frederick told him a slight glare. "I was dead serious."

"That's what I was afraid of…" the Reaper said with a sigh. "Okay, why?"

"Make no mistake, I still think you could refine the way you act around others (myself especially), but this isn't a simple manner of talking things through. Even before Chrom steps into that meeting I already know their answer's going to be no. They want to be protected in the capital at all times, not make sure their farmers and other commoners are well defended."

"I figured as much too, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Be yourself I suppose," Frederick told him. "I hate to say it, but your aggression is just what we need this time. These people are afraid of you; they can't control you, Chrom himself seems to give you free reign, and they know that you're strong, especially if they've heard to rumors about you."

"You make me sound like some sort of berserk animal, some beast," Ragna muttered.

"Maybe that's what we need now. You can read a person fairly well, when you see injustice you speak against it. I'm against fear tactics, but this is one of the few times I'll allow our ends to justify our means."

"Pretty sound logic," Ragna admitted, though he didn't like. "I'll go, but try to lay off me, alright?"

"I suppose I can, and maybe eventually I understand your… crude way of living."

"Meh, call it what you want. You help the Shepherds your style, I'll help mine."

"As long as we have the same end goal," Frederick acknowledged with a nod.

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Frederick**_ (End Theme, but keep it open)

Ragna continued heading down the hallways of and began heading towards the front gate, hoping to get out of the stuffy atmosphere of nobility and hit the streets, frigid weather be damned.

"Well look who it is," Ragna heard a somewhat familiar voice saw behind him. Turning his head, he saw the smile face of Eliza Chamandure, a noble whom he'd danced with the last time he'd been here. "I wasn't expecting the two of us to see each other here, Ragna the Bloodedge."

"Turn away now and we won't have to," Ragna said curtly. He remembered the seductive nature of the woman in front of him and the task she'd given the Shepherds when he refused her advances.

"So hostile!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "Have I offended you?"

"If I say no will you leave me alone?" Ragna asked.

"You wouldn't even give me the time of day would you? I suppose if I was dying in a cold ditch you'd simply pass me by. At least I managed to save quite a few lives bringing my townspeople to safety. I doubt that much can be said about the other nobles in this court."

"...Whatever," The Reaper grunted.

"Oh that attitude won't do, not with the proposition I'm going to make you; you need men to aid in your little 'rescue' of Ylisse, but I doubt anyone here would give them to you. I can, and I'd only ask one thing in return."

"I'm not going to like this am I?"

"You just might, I want you to become my champion. You'd fight for me until your final breath, serving me and only me. However, I swear to Naga, Grima, and any other gods you'd believe in that I'd continue to support Ylisse with my troops. And as for you? You'd never have any worry about being poor again, you'd eat the finest meals, drink only the best wines and mead and live a life of ease unless you were called upon for duty. Would you accept?"

"No way in hell," Ragna grunted. "Chrom might need help, but we're not that desperate. Go ask someone else and quit wasting my time."

"Then maybe I could make it something much more temporary," Eliza said as she twirled her blonde hair in a single finger. "How about becoming my champion for only one day. Say… _one fortnight_."

"...Pass, and I'm starting to get tired of your bullshit. You want to give us men? Fine, but don't think I'm going to become your damned manservant for it." Ragna turned and walked away from the noble woman, if she could even be called that.

"How does it feel?" she called after him. "How does it feel to be responsible for damning Ylisse to its grave and killing its Exalt?"

Trying not to let those words shake him, Ragna continued walking and hurried out into the courtyard. Hearing the thud as wooden swords hitting leather he figured he'd taken a wrong turn and made his way into the training yard.

 _Two Warriors_ ( **Cue** _Such Bonds are the True Strength of this Army_ )

As it had turned out only one person was currently in the training yard and it was the regnant Kahn, Flavia. Ragna watched her for a moment as she continued to strike the training dummy, her form allowing her to follow each attack with no hesitation resulting in another rhythmic series of thuds as wood struck leather.

"Like what you see?" she asked, apparently having realized that the Reaper was there.

"Didn't want to bother you," he defended, blushing slightly at the way she worded it.

"You wouldn't, it takes more than a simple conversation to distract me," Flavia said before performing five quick slashes, each of which struck with exactly and crippling precision before turning to face him. "Did you want something?"

"Nah, I just took a wrong turn after I tried to get away from someone I'd really rather not deal with," he told her honestly. "But I gotta say I'm impressed; you spend all day running Regna Ferox and you still make time to train? That's some dedication."

"It's an equally important part of ruling, but one that's much easier for me," Flavia said before smirking. "It almost makes me wish that I could just have someone I trust to rule for me while I focus on defending my throne in combat."

"But you can't have the easy way can you?" Ragna told her. "Well I won't distract you, guess I'll be going."

"Actually I could use your help," Flavia said to him. "It's been some time since I've faced anyone who'd actually give me a decent fight, do you think you could fill the role?"

"You're the Khan, can't you just order me to fight you?"

"Since when do you take orders from anyone?" Flavia said with a haughty laugh. "I doubt that I could force you for a duel, but I hear that patience is a virtue."

"And you're thinking you'll eventually wear me down huh?" Ragna groaned before he took of his sword and red coat and rested them beside the weapons rack before grabbing a practice sword. "Well whatever, might as well give you what you want."

"Which I have a tendency to get," Flavia said with a smirk as she readied her sword. "I don't care much for pre-battle etiquette, so let's skip to the part where we try to bludgeon each other with these oversized sticks."

"Now you're talkin' my language," Ragna accepted with a grin.

The sparring duel that took place was much harder than any previous that Ragna had participated in this world; not only was Flavia skilled, she was strong and her speed was weapon in itself, one that she used very efficiently.

Making sure he'd keep the fight fair, Ragna didn't use any magic, nor did he use and of his attacks involving the Azure Grimoire. That may have eliminated almost all of his techniques, but he still had his natural ability and was eventually able to disarm Flavia.

"Not bad," Flavia said, though it was clear that she was out of breath. Ragna himself was covered in sweat and had a more rapid heart beat. "No wonder the rest of the Shepherds put you in such high regard."

"And it's no wonder you're Khan," Ragna said in response, while he was out of breath himself. "If I was in Gangrel's shoes I wouldn't want to meet you on the battlefield."

"Hah! You flatter me," Flavia said with a laugh. "Regardless, I suppose we can agree that there was merit to both of us in this fight. We'll have to make a routine of this then."

"Merit? Then what'd I get? All I did was keep you from coming back and demanding a fight and you're already going to do that!" Ragna demanded.

"Probably, but you at least had the chance to work off some of your earlier stress and anxiety," Flavia told him sounding sure of herself. Ragna reluctantly nodded, there was some truth to that. "Besides, you're the first person who's been able to disarm me besides Basilio since I don't know how long. Take some pride."

"You're just making me your personal sparring partner, aren't you?"

"Why Ragna, I'm offended. Of course I am," the Khan's smile seemed to only grow bigger. "And I have to say I'm quite pleased in my decision. You don't have any objection to this do you?"

"Woof."

"Ha! Make fun of this if you will, but there is one advantage to this; fewer people will think to talk down to you should you continue to spar with me… They'll think you've earned my favor."

"Haven't I though?" Ragna asked. He figured Flavia had always been friendly to him for a reason. Wasn't earning someone's favor just getting them to like you?

"You're certainly getting there, I'm quite looking forward to this rivalry, Ragna the Bloodedge."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Flavia**_ **(** End theme **)**

 _ **The Meeting**_

The meeting room chamber wasn't anything special in Chrom's eyes, nothing that he hadn't already seen in Ylisse. He was currently sitting in on of the meeting room chairs and hoping that the meeting would just get started already. The meeting was supposed to have started a half hour ago and even now barely half of Regna Ferox's nobility had bothered to show up. Chrom let out a sigh while Robin looked over her tactics books on his right.

"They're certainly taking their time," he said to Ragna, who sat left of him, leaning back in his chair with one leg wrapped over the other as he continued to read from his book on spell tomes. "This isn't a good sign."

"Well I'm here for a reason," Ragna said, not averting his eyes from his book which Lissa also tried to read as she sat to his left. "If they're not going to take you seriously, I'll make them listen."

"Just don't take things too far," Chrom asked Ragna. "These politicians might not be the best people in the world, but we still can't have a blood bath on our hands."

"...And I thought you understood me," Ragna said gruffly as he turned his book to the next page. "Just because someone pissed me off or got in my way doesn't mean I have to kill them. I don't know what you think about me, but I still hate the idea of cutting people's heads off."

"But you've never really seemed to have minded that much when we're slaying Risen, Plegians, or Bandits," Chrom informed. "I'm not criticizing you, but this is one of those topics that I hate to talk about that I need to ask you about."

Ragna remained silent for a moment as he continued to mull over the book he was holding and the best way to answer Chrom. "Well it's hard to say really, I mean in a war it's kill or be killed, and I'll admit that I've come across more than a few people that definitely _needed_ to be killed." ' _Like Yuuki Terumi and Relius Clover…_ ' "But I think a lot of it has to do with the guy holding the sword, can I stand the thought of killing the guy in front of me, what's it going to accomplish, is it worth it? If you can ask yourself and still manage to off 'em… well that's just who you are. There's a time and place, but I don't think I'll need to do anything drastic here, maybe punch a few of them in the right direction at most."

"I wouldn't entirely mind seeing that," Chrom admitted and the Grim Reaper and he laughed. "But I guess I should ask, how will I know who to spare and who to put to the sword?"

Ragna let out a deep breath as he thought to himself before remembering who he was talking to. Chrom might be a little hot-headed sure, but he couldn't say that he himself wasn't. The prince was also pretty fair when it came to treating people and was loyal to his cause, even if he might've taken his dedication to his sister and kingdom a bit too far at times. He was good man, probably a better one than him.

"If you're ever in that situation? You'll know," Ragna said smugly before the doors opened and the rest of the nobility came in. "Well look what the cat dragged in."

"Just don't act out too early," Chrom told him. "I'll try to say what I can myself."

"Whatever, but there's only so much crap I can take."

Once everyone had taken their place the meeting had begun. Everyone there had come armed with a weapon, as was tradition at Regna Ferox. Chrom cleared his throat and stood make his address to the crowd.

"Nobility of Regna Ferox, I come before you today to ask for additional troops," he spoke in a confident voice. "King Gangrel of Plegia has openly declared war on my kingdom and has already massacred one of its uni-"

"He's presumptuous isn't he?" one of the nobles interrupted and a few others tried to stifle laughter.

"I… I'm sorry?" Chrom tried to question.

"Oh, you definitely should be," Eliza said, shaking her head in a condescending manner. "After all it's thanks to us that you that our poor, poor commoners are suffering so. Why, if it wasn't for the forces that we've had to send to your country, they might've had enough forces to protect them, not have to haul them all in our capital, for shame for shame."

"But they had nothing to do with that!" Basilio shouted from where he sat beside Lon'qu and Basilio. "Most of the men they took back with them were from the capital not from your lands!"

"Yes, troops that we could have used to protect our own realm," came a slightly garbled voice from one of the nobles. Ragna felt that the slightly misshaped man speaking was slightly familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it. "Do you even know of that state of the troops you've already been sent do you know how they fare?"

"They're defending the capital as far as I know…" Chrom admitted with a grimace.

"So you don't even know how the troops we'll already sent you fare," the man said with a cocky smile that Ragna recognized. The man speaking was none other than Tristan, the Count that he'd beaten in a duel last time he was here. "Well, hopefully they remain alive, but we won't send any soldiers on such a terrible investment."

"Investment!?" Chrom shouted. "My sister, our Exalt is in danger! She managed to end a war that would have ruined all of our lands and you think that leaving someone dedicated to peace should die!?"

"Well if she was such an able leader, why do you need our help? Why are we in this war in the first place?"

Chrom was about to shout a retort when the door were flung open and an out of breath messenger ran inside. "P-Pr-Prince Chrom!" the messenger said with scarce breaths. "T-terrible news! Your sister! She's been taken by Gangrel!"

"What!?" Chrom shouted with fearful eyes. "Is she alive?"

"Yes my liege, but I'm afraid that the Mad King has taken her back to Plegia with his army and is already planning her execution."

"Emm…" Ragna heard Lissa saw beside her, seeing the princess on the verge of tears he put a comforting hand on her shoulder before she lost it.

"Now do you see?" Chrom asked the nobility with a scowl. "Now do you see why we need help? The mad king won't stop until all of Ylisse is destroyed! What will you say to that!?"

The nobles did remain silent for a moment. Chrom was beginning to think that he'd made his point, that was until noble Eliza stood. Her face seemed emotionless at first, but then evolved in a smile, a cruel and sadistic smile.

"Congratulations." Chrom and Lissa gaped at the words and Ragna and Frederick's scowls increased. "It looks like you've gotten what you wanted. All Hail the new Ylissean Exalt, All Hail King Chrom!" The rest of Regna Ferox's nobility laughed coldly. "I can only imagine the songs that they'll sing about you, _King Chrom, King Chrom, ruler of Ylisse, sacrificed countless commoners , lost his own sister to-_ "

The sudden sound of a sword impaling wood stopped her words cold. Slowly turning her head down she caught sight of the giant blade impaled her seat beside her, having missed her by a hair's breadth. Looking back up, she saw the Ragna as he appeared to have thrown it, his face looking fairly casual, but his eyes were filled with hatred.

"Missed…" he grunted, many people were about to speak out and their guards were going for their weapons, but then a dark, menacing aura appeared around him stopping everyone in their tracks. "Listen to the man, or get the hell out of this room before I tear ya in half!"

"I'd do what he wants," Flavia said with a cocky smirk, that made the nobles feel like they were cornered by a wolf. "After all he killed a few hundred Risen in well under an hour, cutting through all of you wouldn't take half of one."

May I continue?" Chrom asked, allow himself a somewhat wry smile as the politicians took their seats and the Prince again began to speak. "First, since the original three hundred Risen force has been dealt with have their been any further attacks?"

"A few," Raimi, Flavia's advisor, informed. "But the forces seem much small, containing only from ten to thirty Risen. The main reason we aren't able to defend against them is a lack of troops."

"Robin?" Chrom questioned to his tactician.

"If we leave now, we can take a smaller strike force and rescue Emmeryn. With her returned to us we can rally any remaining forces from Ylisse and strike at the capital."

"So most of our troops will remain here…" Count Tristan summarized, before shrugging casually. "Now… which force is going?"

"Mine," Flavia said as she stood. Immediately there was protesting, but Flavia shot all of their responses down. "I'm not about to sit idly by and dismiss our newest allies in their time of need! The rest of you paper pushers and wine drinkers should be happy if I fall in battle, it'll leave the seat open for your fat arses." The silence indicated that everyone agreed (though a couple coughed at the arse comment). "Good, now take your armies and get out of my capital."

"I refuse to leave!" Count Tristan shouted. "But this is the safest place there is! I won't leave the safety of the capital just for a few-!"

No one caught sight Ragna move as he lunged across the room, all they felt was blast of wind before they saw him standing in front of Tristan's seat, holding the Count in the air by his neck, though he wasn't choking him so much as he was holding him there to glare at directly.

"You want to keep your troops here? Fine, you can come with us and we'll just drop you off at your city on the way," Ragna threatened. "You can be just like the rest of the people out there, cold, hungry, defenseless, and with no one to protect you." Roughly throwing Tristan back in his chair Ragna headed back to his own seat, but not before stopping in front of Eliza Chamandure. "Move."

The woman fearfully obeyed the order before he roughly yanked his sword out of her seat. Clipping it back on his belt, the Grim Reaper made his way out of the council room.

"Apologies, my friend has a way with his theatrics," Chrom said, though he didn't seem sorry in the slightest. "Now… are there any objections?"

 _ **Plegian Castle Dungeons**_

Emmeryn sat in her dungeon cellar, contemplating the situation she was in. She didn't regret where she was, not at all. Her sacrifice had stopped the slaughter before it began. Though she could not shake the feeling of guilt from the death of the Pegasus riders, her personal surrender had ensured that no one else needed to die. Phila and the others were permitted to remain; only she was carried off per her demands.

The Exalt had not been tortured, or hurt in any other way she'd just been put into a dungeon deep under the castle and was brought feeble meals when it was time to eat. She knew that she was to be executed, Gangrel had laughed in her face about that much, but it mattered little to her now.

"What are you doing here?" Emmeryn heard a guard's voice say from outside. "No one sees the prisoner, especially not one of your kind." All of her guards were supposed to have been female soldiers, but this shift's guard was clearly disgusted with the idea of guarding Ylisse's ruler, so she'd given off the duty to one of her subordinates, which was a man. He hadn't tried anything with her, so she'd paid him little mind.

" _ **Fool, I came here to see the Exalt and that is what I intend to do,**_ " a horridly raspy voice informed. " _ **You needn't worry about myself harming her, the lady's execution will still be public.**_ "

"Like hell we trust the Grimleal, you probably couldn't wait until she was here so you could sacrifice her to Grima. Now get out of here before I-!"

" _ **Before you what?**_ " Even from where she sat, Emmeryn could feel the darkness pouring out of the man on the other side of the wall. " _ **I doubt that any guard could stop me, so what would you do? Run off and tell your king? Oh, I think he'd be pleased to hear from you while he's celebrating his victory and be interrupted by a guard who left his post. Just PLEASED.**_ "

The guard seemed to mumble and stutter for a moment moving out of his way as the darkness faded. "Fine, just don't do anything."

Emmeryn saw the hooded man as he came inside the dungeon, he stood in front of her on the other side of the bars a moment as he stared at her… or seemed to stare, she could not see any of him, just his Plegian robes.

" _ **...What a waste,**_ " he said finally, shaking his head. " _ **Do you mind if I take a seat?**_ " he asked with unusual courtesy. At Emmeryn's gesture the man pulled up a seat which he put in front of her a took a seat on. " _ **Please call me Minos milady.**_ "

"And I am Emmeryn. I didn't think that anyone in the Grimleal would consider calling me milady, but thank you Minos." Emmeryn and most of the continent knew that the Grimleal hated Ylisse's royal family due to the legends of them defeating Grima in the days of the first Exalt.

" _ **Not all of the Grimleal act as you might think,**_ " Minos continued. " _ **I'd speculate that a small handful of them would admire your resolve and actions. Even my right hand man has a begrudging form of respect for you and he was on the frontlines in your father's war.**_ "

"I see…" Emmeryn noted. "Though I doubt any of you will help me out of this predicament?"

Minos shook his head. " _ **This is not mater of character I'm afraid, it is a matter of duty. I came here to see the woman who your brother and his Reaper are fighting so hard to defend.**_ "

"Reaper…" Emmeryn repeated, before remember the story Ragna had told her and the title he'd used, but he'd only ever used it in his world. "Do… do you come from another world yourself?"

" _ **Another world?**_ " Minos repeated himself, before mulling over the question. " _ **I do not, but it seems I finally understand the sudden appearance of our great hinderance. Tell me, what do you call him?**_ "

"I… I would not give away the names of my friends under such circumstances," Emm said defiantly, though she fully expected the man to become hostile.

" _ **Have it your way then… I suppose I'll find out soon enough anyways,**_ " the hooded man said passively. " _ **Though do you mind if I ask you something more… personal?**_ "

"You are free to ask, but I may not be able to answer," Emmeryn promised.

" _ **A fair point. Now, do you believe in Naga? Do you truly believe of her powers and miracles, or do you only force yourself to believe as the Exalt?**_ "

She hadn't expected this question; to hear a Plegian ask her about her religion was unheard of, but she knew that she had an answer to the question.

"I do believe… because I truly know I witnessed a miracle," Emmeryn told him. "My mother had just passed and my younger sister was currently dying of sickness. I doubt either her or my brother remembered, but her state was so… terrible. I cried every night because the nursemaids would not let me near her, cried prayed for her safety and health, but she only became sicker. Then one day I overheard the maids talking, they said that she wouldn't make it through the night… so I prayed. I prayed from dusk until dawn to Naga, begging her to spare my sister, knowing any moment I could hear the news of her death. I don't know how long I'd been praying, but at some point the next day I finally stopped praying to see her and…" Emmeryn smiled and a few happy tear fell from her eyes. "She was lying in her crib, sleeping peacefully for the first time in days. She recovered at an impossible rate, going back to the giggling sweet child that I still see today."

" _ **Seeing such a thing might turn even the most cutthroat mercenary into a priest overnight,**_ " Minos admitted. " _ **I'm surprised that you didn't spread this story with your people, this being my first time hearing it and I feel like I'm quite adept at finding the news.**_ "

"That story could have caused… problems with the people… divine favoritism towards the royal family would not have been viewed kindly in that time. There were rumors of course, but I would not claim that Naga had blessed my family when so many still suffered."

" _ **And you worked so hard to end their suffering,**_ " Minos acknowledged. " _ **Were I not so dedicated to the Grimleal's cause I'd feel great regret in seeing you fall.**_ "

"May I ask that you answer the same question?" Emmeryn asked. "What makes you believe in Grima so?"

" _ **Because**_ _**humans are such fools; they see only with their eyes, but they betray themselves with what they see. Some can see a man bleeding in front of them, but they refuse to acknowledge they witnessed a single drop of blood. The Grimleal is not excluded from that category either, many know of the more heroic tales of Grima's defeat, but countless refuse to admit they exist. Perhaps I believe in Grima because I feel that I've abandoned my humanity… and have seen my lord with more than just my eyes.**_ "

However vague his words were, the darkness in his presentation was enough to chill Emmeryn to the bone. Minos then rose from his seat and pushed the chair back to where he had retrieved it. He turned to address the Exalt one last time.

" _ **We will not see each other again, but I hope that your passing shall be a swift and painless one, you have clearly earned that much… your grace.**_ "

The Hierophant then left without another word. While Emmeryn let out a deep breath of relief she didn't realize she'd been holding inside, outside the dungeon the guard sneered at Minos. "What the hell did you go and do that for?"

" _ **Know thy enemy and thou shalt be victorious,**_ " he said ominously as he walked back to his chambers.

"Crazy fool, he couldn't have gotten anything from that," the guard muttered, before having a vile thought form in his mind. Why should that crazed man be the only one to have some time with that lady? It'd been a while since his last 'round' anyways and it's not like anyone would mind. She'd be pushed off soon anyways and she was a fairly decent looker. As his hand went for the door, it was inches away from when a knife of dark energy impaled itself in the wall, narrowly missing him.

" _ **Don't even think of it,**_ " Minos's rasped voice called from down the hall as he gave off his dark aura. The shaken guard decided he'd mind his distance.

 _ **Regna Ferox**_

Ragna stay outside in the training yards, swinging his sword as he trained himself. The Reaper had grabbed several training weights and had put them on his arms, legs, torso, and sword. This didn't slow him down much, but it helped him focus on the task at hand and see some improvement even if it was a minor one.

' _After all of the crap I just went through I need some way to clear my head,'_ Ragna thought to himself as he continued swing his sword at blistering speeds. ' _Damn politicians and their damn political bullshit! If this wasn't for the Shepherds I'd have torched the room and left for the hills two minutes into that shit fest! What gives them the right to judge us like they know us? None! I swear to god Frederick, next time you ask me to do that and I'm on dinner duty, you'd better hope that Robin's bear eating lessons actually did something for you!'_

 _A Past of Loss_ (Cue _You May Call Me Marth_ )

"You still seem on edge," Ragna heard a curt voice behind him say. The Reaper instantly caught his sword and pointed it directly at the man behind him. "This almost seems familiar."

"I guess," Ragna admitted to Lon'qu as he brought the blade back, remember the first real time the two had talked. "Sorry, just kinda pissed after all the shit we went through."

"Still you stood your ground, but the forces that we'll be taking with us are… somewhat lacking. Are you sure it'll be enough?"

"Tactics aren't my thing anymore, remember? That's Robin's job. Either way, we'll have to make due. I'm not letting the little guys suffer just because we have a war to fight and some pathetic assholes are trying to run the show… Basilio and Flavia excluded of course."

"Hmph, true enough. But I felt like I should thank you none the less."

"Hey, I didn't exactly do it for you no offense," Ragna said before realizing. "But you do seem awfully invested in what happens to them. Something personal?"

"...I suppose this is a good of time to tell my story as any," Lon'qu sighed. "My origins could be considered humble at best… I was a child convinced between a lady of a pleasure house and father I would never know. I don't even remember my mother that well, she died of disease when I was very young."

"But that's not all all I'm guessing," Ragna said seriously.

"I wish it had been. Living as a parentless youth is harder in Ferox than most places even in times of peace, the cold makes sure to weed the weak out quickly. I can't remember all of the times I had to sleep with an empty stomach, absolutely chilled to the bone. Most people fell would fall into despair, in fact I think that I would have… if not for a young lady named Ke'ri."

Ragna remained silent, he had a fair idea he knew where this was going.

"She was special, always cheerful despite living the cold life of a commoner. She was very beautiful, a sapphire in the rough. She could have easily gained the attention of several people; the mayor's eldest son, traveling merchant, I even saw a wealthy noble eyeing her… but for whatever reason she chose me."

Lon'qu grit his teeth at the difficulty of what he was about to tell. "The time I spent with her was some of my happiest and I might even say the two of us found love, but it was short lived. One day when I was down the stream with her bandits were upon us. I may have had a sword, even back then, but there were two many, they were too fast…"

"You don't have to go into detail, I understand," Ragna told him truthfully.

"I know, you've had to suffer being powerless as well," Lon'qu acknowledged. "She died that day, but something seemed to posses me. I went into a blood driven frenzy and managed to kill the leader and scared away the remaining bandits. But I after facing her family, a family whose girl I'd taken from her… I just felt so broken. In the end I ran and developed my sword skills along the way to survive, eventually catching Basilio's eye."

"And here you are," Ragna said.

"And here I am, but every night, every single time I dream, I have to live through that day again. I've already seen one woman die because of me… I won't get close enough to see a second. And as a former child of the slums I don't anyone to go through the hell that I did."

"I'd say that you can't blame yourself, but you don't seem the type that'd listen," Ragna sighed. "But if there's anyway I can help you out, let me know."

"There is," Lon'qu said before heading over to the weapons rack and tossing a sword to Ragna, which the Reaper caught before placing Blood-Scythe off to the side. When he returned however, he saw that Lon'qu was holding a practice blade in each hand, a two-weapon style. "Whenever I grow stronger, whenever I get the feeling that I may be even a little more ready to save a life, I feel at ease."

"Wait a minute," Ragna began gruffly. "Was this your plan from the start? Try to coax me into sparring?"

"I honestly hadn't considered it," the swordsman admitted, before giving a wry smile. "But that's why I leave strategy to Robin."

"Point taken," Ragna said before giving a cocky smile. "All right, let's see what you've got!"

"Prepare yourself!" Lon'qu shouted as the two warriors began their spar.

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Lon'qu**_

 _ **Author's Note: I don't own anything except for this story.**_

 _ **Another tie in chapter, again sorry it took me so long. Now for the Bonus Omake.**_

 _The Hot Ones_ (Cue _But Frederick, It's Nearly Dark_ )

"Almost there," Ragna thought aloud to himself as he ducked behind a stack of crates. The Reaper was trying to leave the Shepherds camp so that he could head into the forest to train himself the rest of the afternoon, but he still needed to fight his way through one obstacle, one person.

"Just got to get to the edge," Ragna said to himself as he started running before he felt the intense heat of hot flames come from behind him. "Shit…" Using his Ars Magus barrier, the Reaper blocked the attack with ease, without having to turn.

"Going somewhere?" a clearly annoyed voice asked from behind him..

"Yeah, leaving camp for a bit, what's it to you butt-floss?" Ragna spat before feeling the sharp pain of being punched in the back of the head. "For the love of god! Stop hitting me!"

"Then stop calling me that name you pervert!" Bullet shouted at him as Ragna finally turned to face her.

"Oh pervert, says the woman who constantly keeps her ass exposed! Butt out of my business already!" the Reaper shouted.

"As much as I'd like to I can't," the mercenary said as she crossed her arms. "Chrom put me in charge of keeping an eye on you and stopping you from pulling any reckless stunts so that's what I'm going to do."

"Dammit Chrom," Ragna groaned under his breath. "Well whatever, I'm just going to train anyways, what's so wrong about that?"

"Nothing I guess, but something tells me that you're going to cause a problem somehow," Bullet said with a sigh.

"...Why are you here anyways?" Ragna had to ask.

"What, you think I'm just dead weight?" the mercenary asked him with a glare.

"You know that's not what I meant, you're just willfully thinking I'm insulting you. What I _am_ asking, is why you chose to fight for Ylisse when you got here. I mean you could've easily fought for Plegia and probably gotten an easier payday and even had the chance to eighty-six me."

"Tch, I don't want any of their blood money," Bullet said with a snarl before sighing. "And (as much as I hate to say it) you did say my life from Azrael."

"For the latter, you're welcome. For the former, this IS a war, I'm pretty sure all money's blood money here. C'mon what's your real reason for fighting on this side?"

"Two reasons; the first one is I can't stand Plegia's leader. He seems like just another maniac… but you seem to hold this Emmeryn woman in high regard."

"If you ever meet her you'll think the same, I guarantee it," Ragna told her. "And the other reason?"

"The Shepherds, they… they remind me of the former unit that I used to work with, the one that I was my family for the longest time. Everyone here's got their own story, they're chaotic, but most of all they're family."

"Sentimentality then?" Ragna summarized.

Bullet chuckled. "Sure, we'll go with that. All the same, I can't let anything happen that would endanger them."

"That so? Then let me go train," Ragna told her. "I might not have had a family of mercs like you did, but I've been fighting for new my family too. And now (as awkward as this is) I guess you're part of it as well."

"Alright fine," Bullet conceded with a nod before grabbing Ragna's collar and forcing his face close to hers as she glared straight into his eyes. "But the moment I hear about you causing trouble for them I'm taking it out on your hide, Reaper."

"Whatever," Ragna said before forcing Bullet's arm off and heading towards the edge of camp. Bullet headed a few steps back inside camp before hearing Ragna call from behind her. "And for the record I'd find a skirt if I were you! People aren't standing behind you to admire your shoulders!"

Realizing what he was saying, Bullet's face became a deep blush. "Y-You-!" But as she turned the Reaper had already vanished. The Merc grit her teeth. "He's got some nerve! ...But that Virion guy, maybe he did try to hit on me when I got here, but I though I already sent him off, Does that mean that everyone-?" Looking down at her torn jeans, Bullet sighed. "Maybe it's not a terrible idea to do a little clothes shopping after all..."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Bullet**_

 _ **Ah Bullet and Ragna, their time together is always short, but it's always either a completely humors situation, or an actually heart warming one. I dunno, these two always seemed to mesh pretty well to me.**_

 _ **All righty then, review responses.**_

 _ **Awakened Fan:**_ We'll see what happens down the line with Olivia… and Ragna I guess.

 _ **Kalakuai:**_ For Gaius, yes that was my intention. For Panne, with due time, I don't think a C rank is enough to reveal each other's pasts. 'Grim' is a reference to the Reaper's origins, kind of a son of a villain made into a hero sort of thing. Other BlazBlue characters may show up, but I'm pretty sure I'll be portraying them in their own world, sort of as a what's the world been doing without Ragna. Thanks for the review.

 _ **Animeandgamerlover2:**_ To add depth to the characters mostly. That and it seemed fun to write for.

 _ **Mugen7**_ : Yeah, I've decided to have a couple of the character's more of a growth than we saw in the game. I mean seeing them grow through marriage and support is fire, but I have idea's to expand that. Annas 4 Dayz! As for techniques, Ragna's going to be getting quite a few down the line. Good to hear from you.

 _ **Marconator360:**_ _Thanks, I try._

 _ **Adv:**_ Kinda, we're getting there.

 _ **Guest:**_ Whoops! Guess I'll fix that!

 _ **Thanks again everyone! Ciao!**_


	21. The Sands of Ruin

_**Chapter XXI: The Sands of Ruin**_

For a desert kingdom, Ragna didn't exactly feel very warm in Plegia. Don't get him wrong, the terrain was made of endless sand and there didn't seem to be much plant life, he just didn't feel much heat. More like he felt cold while walking the sands to where the kingdom's capital lie… cold and a foreboding feeling of death. So far the Shepherd hadn't encountered any forms of resistance as they marched along the sandy expanse.

The Reaper himself was keeping a rather neutral expression as he walked, but on the inside he was certainly troubled. News of Emmeryn's capture had hit him hard, and even Eliza's harsh words were starting to weigh down on him.

 _'How does it feel to be responsible for damning Ylisse to its grave and killing its Exalt?'_

Ragna shuddered to himself as he kept walking. _'What the hell was I trying to prove letting Emm go alone? That I'm better than when I was back in my world? I should've gone a wrecked their armies at least then we would've…'_

The Reaper then thought back to what Emmeryn had told him would happen to Plegia earlier. _'Families stripped apart from the carnage, starvation in the streets, the people in constant fear of Ylisse; wounds that would never heal for generations leading to further wars and more bloodshed.'_

 _'Why do I feel that I can never find myself with an actual option?'_ Ragna thought to himself darkly. _'Kill thousands who want you dead and wreak a kingdom, or save one woman that the world actually needs… why the hell is it me that has to decide?'_

 _ **Advice From a Runaway**_ ( **Cue** BlazBlue's Stardust Memory)

"Hey Ragna, are you okay?" Ragna turned his head to see that his fellow worldly outsider Elphelt Valentine had approached him with a concerned look on her face. "You look like you're brooding over something."

"Brooding's a pretty good word for it," Ragna admitted as he continued walking. "Everything about where we're going is just pissing me off. I let Emmeryn leave and now she's about to executed when I could've stopped it. Can I really even say that I've got any control over all the shit I've had to go through?"

"You probably can't…" Elphelt said sadly. "I wasn't much different now that I think about it. Back in the world I came from there were these two that I always used to spend time with; my sister Ram and this other guy named Sin."

 _'Who the hell would name their kid Sin? It just sounds unreasonably cruel,'_ Ragna thought, but he kept that question to himself. "What about 'em was so bad?"

"Nothing, I had a lot of fun with them, some of my best moments really, but on the inside something felt wrong… I betrayed them, or rather I did what mother had made me to do and couldn't stop myself."

 _'Just like what happened then,'_ Ragna thought, remembering back when he had to stop Noel when she'd been smelted into her Murakumo unit by form by Yuuki Terumi. "What happened?"

"I was stopped by Frederick," Elphelt told him. Ragna looked to the Great Knight who was marching beside Chrom and gestured his thumb towards him in disbelief. "Oh, I mean someone from my world… Now that I think about it we actually called him Sol anyways," Elphelt remembered.

"And this Sol guy, he's the one who I remind you of?" Ragna asked and Elphelt nodded at his question. "What happened to you, after he stopped you I mean?"

"I was taken somewhere by my mother, and while I was there… I can't explain it, I felt like the part of me that you're looking at was torn away and was then replaced. I was stuck in the Backyard for some time before waking up in a field…"

"And then I found you by Southtown," Ragna concluded. Despite himself, he chuckled darkly and earned a surprised look from El. "I guess there's no point in either of us going home then?"

"I guess not, this is going to be my home now," Elphelt said before smiling. "It's at least better than the last one."

"Yeah," Ragna said before remembering what was important now. True, Emmeryn might've been in Gangrel's hands, there was a war that could likely annihilate the continent, and several people were already suffering… but he wasn't out of this, not by a long shot.

"And if I try hard, maybe I'll finally find my soul mate!" El shouted as she gripped her hands in determination.

"...If that's what'll keep you going," Ragna finally said, sweating slightly at the strangeness of her end goal.

"What about you, what are you trying to do?" Elphelt asked him.

Ragna thought about it, he thought long and hard. Ever since he'd gotten here it'd been something to save or someone to talk to. Was he just trying to protect those close to him? That might've been part of it, but he didn't think it was his end goal. Was he trying to make new friends? It was nicer to have someone to talk to, but something about that didn't seem right either.

"I guess…" he finally began. "I'm just looking for a place in the world where they won't mind having a Reaper."

"Well…" Elphelt began, glancing to the rest of the Shepherds who were laughing with each other. "I think you've found it."

"Yeah…" Ragna admitted with a nod before giving her a warm smile. "I guess I have."

 ** _Support Rank B Obtained with Elphelt Valentine_ ** (End Theme) **A/N: Much better than the one in Chapter 12, no?**

Ragna continued walking onward, now feeling much more at ease than he'd been earlier. He noticed that Elphelt had walked off and was now chatting with Lissa, Cordelia, and Olivia. He allowed himself a contented sigh before turning his spell book open. Remembering that he'd been working on Elfire last time, he decided to try and see if he could finish up any work he had left with ir.

Reading over the incantation once more, Ragna began channeling the fire magic to his BlazBlue creating the red flames around it. He continued channeling the magic and started shaping it into a fireball. He dispelled the magic before channeling it again and quickly managed to learn to create a fireball at will.

 _ **Spell Upgraded**_ : _Elfire_ The attack mimics the spell of its name. It is the more powerful version of _Fire_ , but costs more dark energy. This spell can be further improved to _Arcfire_ with sufficient practice.

"Well there's that," Ragna said as he stared at his arm before thinking to himself. _'I wonder if I can channel this into my sword like I did with wind magic a while ago…'_

 _ **Boundless Energy**_ ( **Cue** But Frederick, It's Nearly Dark)

"Hey Ragna!" Ricken said as he approached the Reaper. "Practicing magic?"

"Yeah, at least until we get further into Plegia. We're a ways away from the capital, but I think we'd ought to keep our guard up."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ricken told him. "So… need any help studying magic?"

"You're not going to fall asleep if you help me are you?" Ragna asked with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ricken demanded with a small glare.

"Oh, just that I remembered something about you falling asleep in the snow," Ragna said with a chuckle. "That, and the the fact that I had to carry you most of the way to town."

"H-Hey, I woke up and walked most of the way back on foot," Ricken tried to defend himself. "Besides, do you have a right to pick on me if Chrom railed that badly on you?"

"I guess not, but why do you need to help me out with magic? I can probably figure it out myself with a bit of time."

"Uh… no reason, I just sort of figured… Promise you won't tell anyone?" Ricken pleaded.

"I dunno why you're trusting me instead of Chrom, but I promise," Ragna assured him.

"It's just that… well you're seen as one of the best Shepherds and everyone I know really looks up to you. I figured that maybe if I can help you learn magic people might start treating a little more seriously."

"Why are you concerned about the way others see you?" Ragna decided to ask. "If someone didn't like me or treat me seriously I'd rather ignore 'em and save the trouble… or beat them to the ground if they're being asses about it."

"You don't come from a noble family, I do, and lately we've lost quite a bit of status," Ricken explained with a grimace. "I figured I could help my family if I joined the Shepherds, but it hasn't been easy even with all the magic practicing I've been doing. I figured if I could help you out they'd at least notice, or maybe you could put a good word in for me maybe?"

"Huh, guess I had you pegged wrong, that's actually a pretty mature way of looking at things, kid," Ragna admitted before smirking. "Now that you mention it, I've been having trouble with this Elthunder spell. I haven't looked at it much, but maybe you could give a couple of pointers?"

"You got it!" Ricken said with enthusiasm. "Now the first thing-!"

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Ricken**_ (End Theme)

 _ **Spell Upgraded**_ : _Elthunder_ The attack mimics the spell of its name. It is the more powerful version of _Thunder_ , but costs more dark energy. This spell can be further improved to _Arcthunder_ with sufficient practice.

The Shepherd's march towards the capital was momentarily halted by Robin, Frederick, and Chrom in the front of the group. Looking up ahead Ragna saw a group of several armed soldiers as well as several robed figures carrying tomes of dark magic.

"The Grimleal," Ragna heard Aversa say from beside him with ire.

"There's still time to back out of this fight if you want," Ragna decided to inform. "You grew up with 'em didn't you?"

"I grew up for them," Aversa corrected him with a scowl. "These people mean nothing to me, especially if they were allies of Validar." Her eyes narrowed as she closely examined the robes. "Chalard…"

"What the hell is a Chalard?" Ragna asked.

"A fanatic of Grima's and a rather large personal annoyance of mine," Aversa informed. "He's also a part of slave trade created by Matthew, one of the Grimleal's council members."

"Slavers, huh?" Ragna repeated with a glare as the Shepherd's formed up. He unslung his sword Blood-Scythe from his belt and rested it on his shoulder. "Let's make sure he doesn't walk away from this."

"Agreed," Aversa said as she let her dark magic channel into her tome. The group of Shepherds was about to proceed, until they noticed a young girl run out of the housing area, appearing to be running from someone. "What have we here? A runaway slave maybe?"

"Maybe…" Ragna said with a frown as he ran to meet Chrom at the front his eyes were narrowed as he looked at the girl. There was something about her that seemed… off, like really off. Ragna then noticed a strange guy come up from behind her and she screamed something at him, but it didn't look like he was trying to hurt her or anything.

"Keep away from that maiden!" Chrom shouted as Ragna approached.

"Fiend? Gregor is not fiend! Gregor is trying to help wee one escape!" the man said with a voice that seemed slightly rough.

"Gregor? Gregor!" Basilio called out with a laugh. "It's been too long old friend!"

"Basilio! A long time indeed!" the mercenary, now known as Gregor, said with a loud laugh of his own.

"Who are these people!?" the younger one shouted before she began crying. Upon closer examination, Ragna could see pointed ears confirming that there was definitely something different about this one. He could also see that the Plegians were approaching now as well.

"Chrom, we need to get going, I'll handle those two," Ragna told his friend. "Hey! Just stay alive! I'm coming over to help!"

"Help is always welcome to Gregor! Especially when former employer is angry!" the mercenary shouted back.

"You-You're not going to capture and sell me are you?" the little girl asked with eyes still filled with tears.

"Hell no! I'm going to crush those slaving bastards!" Ragna shouted as he rushed forward. Moving along the sand was a little difficult at first, but Ragna was readily able to adapt. A dark mage cast Fire and shot a fireball at him, but the Reaper leapt into the air to avoid the attack before bringing his blade down and messily cleaving the man in half. An archer attempted to get a shot in at him, but Ragna unleashed a ranged _Wind Edge_ attack and killed the man where he stood.

Meanwhile on his side of the battlefield, Gregor was fighting as an expert swordsman would. Using his buckler, he defended against an axe user's swing before quickly retaliating with his sword and decapitating the man. A myrmidon swung at him, but he blocked the attack with his sword before bashing him with his buckler, sending his opponent off balance before stabbing his sword into him.

While Robin and the rest of the Shepherds overtook the main force, Ragna finally managed to make his way over to Gregor and the girl he was protecting.

"Oi! You here to help Gregor, very good!" Gregor shouted as he cut down an opponent mercenary. "But why so quick to trust?"

"You're trying to protect someone and Basilio seems to know you," Ragna said before blasting an opponent with _Elfire_. "Good enough for me!"

"Yes, things simpler this way, no?" Gregor agreed with a chuckle as he cut down a mage. More enemy reinforcement quickly approach and surrounded the two swordsmen. "Enemy is making with the surrounding. Might be tricky in protecting little girl."

"Then you focus on protecting her," Ragna said as he began giving off his signature dark aura. "I could wipe out this scum in my sleep." He brought his blade back as he prepared to rush forward to the carnage. As he did, the enemy soldiers threatened

"NO! STAY BACK! GET AWAY FROM ME!" he heard the girl shout from behind him.

"Calm down kid," he tried to say assuringly. "I'm not going to let these assholes-"

Sensing a sudden surge of energy behind him, Ragna quickly turned his head to see a large dragon behind him where she'd had been standing, its scales glittering like crystals. It took a deep breath and blasted a large chunk of crystal from it's maw which obliterated a large group of soldiers.

"...hurt you?" Ragna finished awestruck before shaking the feeling of amazement out of his mind and sending a large _Dead Spike_ at the enemy destroying another large group while Gregor finished off any stragglers. "What the heck are you?"

"I'm Nowi!" the dragon said to him, it's voice have in strange echo to it, similar to Panne's.

"That's not what I-" Ragna began before realizing he didn't have time for this. "Whatever, just be careful alright? I've got to go help the others."

"Gregor and girl will go with you!" Gregor assured him. "Safety in large numbers, no?"

"Do what you need to, but do it now," Ragna said as he started to run off.

Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield Panne was heavily engaged in fighting off a group of horse riders. With her agility and power she was quickly eliminating most of the members with relative ease, yet she kept her distance from the rest of her Shepherd, still untrusting to armed humans after what had happened in her warren.

Done with her current group of enemies, she noticed a lone dark armored Paladin heading towards the group, its spear drawn as it rush across the ground as breakneck speeds. Being the closest to it Panne quickly rushed toward it and attempted to claw it, but the knight's horse was aptly trained and easily dodge the hit before the knight struck her with his lance.

Panne had thought that her fur would take most of the attack, but that wasn't the case as she felt the weapon tear into her flesh with little resistance. She screamed as she toppled forward, trying hard to maintain her transformed state.

"Hah! I didn't think that there were any of you quivering Taguel were still alive!" the Paladin said as he towered over Panne. "Is Ylisse really so desperate that they'd send a rabbit bastard…" Panne groaned as her transformed state finally faded, the man paused before raising his spear. "A woman? Even stupider! You should have spent your time spawning thousands of those crying whelps so I'd have something to hunt with my Beastslayer! Where's the enjoyment in just hunting one of you! A single Taguel head isn't enough to cover my wall!"

As he brought the spear down on the helpless woman in front of him and shut her eyes tight as she waited for the final blow.

 _'Mother…'_ she thought as time seemed to slow. _'I tried… but I don't think I could ever forgive the humans…'_

A sudden shattering sound broke Panne out of her helpless state. She saw the Paladin in front of her with wide eyes as he looked at his broken spear, and the back of the man with a crimson coat flowing in the wind as he stood in front of her in a protective stance.

"Who the fu-!" the Paladin could barely begin before Ragna transformed his sword into a scythe and roared as he cleaved the rider in half. The horse gave a startled neigh before trotting off as fast as it could.

"Son of a bitch…" Ragna cursed at the corpse before turning to the Shepherds in the distance. "LISSA! A little help!?"

The cleric nodded as she raised her Physic staff above her head and healed Panne from a distance. The Taguel felt her pain fade as her wound quickly healed and closed itself.

"Can you stand?" Ragna asked as he held his hand out. Panne considered slapping it away before chiding her initial instincts and accepting his hand. "If you can fight try your best to keep up with us, if not stay back. "We've already got 'em on the ropes."

 _ **On the Far Side of the Battlefield**_

"Curses!" Chalard shouted as he watched his army become completely overwhelmed. He was standing on the edge of one of the oases near his group's supplies only not have been approached thus far because Robin was ordering some of the Shepherd's to warn the nearby villages. Several spears were impaled his the ground behind him, many of them waving banners of the Grimleal. "This can't be happening! Master Grima have you abandoned me?"

"I think you've been abandoned long ago," an annoyed voice said from the side, and one very familiar to Chalard.

"Maybe not," the old man said with a smile. "After all if he's brought you here, that's gift enough to me." He let out a wheezy chuckle causing Aversa's frown to deepen. "Tell me, why have you broken away from your group? Are you thinking of escorting me back to the castle to get back on the winning side of this war."

"From where I'm standing you're losing badly, in fact I don't think we've suffered a single casualty," she countered. "But no, I'm not here for that; I'm here for you… Did you KNOW?" Aversa's glared was threatening as she grew a dark shade with her magics.

"So Validar's little slave finally realized it, and now you're whoring yourself to Ylisse," Chalard cackled. "Oh course I knew! The only one in the entire order who didn't know it was you! All those mocking laughs you'd gotten and you still didn't realize! Were you too busy holding on to daddy's robes?!"

"Good point, I should've been putting a knife in your back!" Aversa shouted as she charged an orb of darkness.

"Yes, go on and try, after all your close friend is watching." Charlard's smile was absolutely haunting to Aversa as he gestured with his eyes toward one of the banner bearing spears.

Keeping her spell ready, Aversa slowly glanced to where Charlard was looking before she felt her entire body go cold. On one of the spears bearing a blood stained banners of Grima there was horse's head impaled, a dark horse's head which look like it had been in terrible pain as it died. Aversa recognized what specific horse it was in an instant.

"Oh, my men and I brought along more than enough food, but all of a sudden we had the strangest cravings for horse meat," Charlard explained as he looked at the horse with a wry smile. "Damn beast put up more a fight than we thought, in the end we decided it was best to let it bleed out even if we had to listen to him scream after cutting its wings off. We waited until it was almost completely dry and then removed the tail... its legs... and finally the head." He then turned to Aversa with a taunting smile. "Tell me, what were you feeding that pegasus? It did taste sweeter than I would've thought."

"MONSTER!" Aversa screamed before blasting the man with her spell. The old man was quicker than she would've thought and dodged the enraged attack. He then attempted to drain her was his _Nosferatu_ spell, but she barely felt it hit her.

"If I'm going to die here at least I get to see you suffer! This must be a parting gift from my lord!" he cackled. Aversa cast her spell once more enraged, though Charlard avoided this attack as well. "Foolish bitch! You can't focus on your spells nearly as well can you!?"

"Maybe not," Aversa admitted before grabbing one of the spears bearing Grima's banner and rough tearing the cloth from it.

"Sacrilege!" Chalard shouted at her before she cast yet another attack at him, this time a simple _Fire_ spell. Again the old man dodged, but Aversa then screamed as she rushed forward and impaled the weapon in his gut. "You… filthy… traitor…"

"You're the traitor here, you and the rest of that hellish cult," Aversa said darkly as she pulled the spear out of his gut and let him fall to the ground.

From a short distance away Chrom watched the event unfold and nodded to Robin as the last of their enemies fell. "Looks like we're done here."

"Looks like it, but it's going to get dark soon," she told him. "We should set up camp, traveling here in broad daylight is already dangerous enough."

"What of the villages?" Frederick advised. "They could send word back to the capital."

"They don't seem to want any part of the war," Robin told him. "They have no courier pigeons, no horses, and we'll still be on look out if anyone does decide to run off."

"I suppose we'll have to," Chrom told them. "This is probably as good of a distance to rest as any." He then saw Ragna approaching with Gregor and the young girl from earlier. "Anything I should know?"

"Panne got messed up pretty bad," he told him. "I had Lissa heal her, but let's make sure she's rested enough for tomorrow."

"By a Beastslayer I'm guessing," Frederick put in. "Those weapons were originally intended to hunt Taguel down in days long past, but mainly today their uses have mainly revolved around mounted units."

 _'Taguel hunts...'_ Ragna thought to himself. 'No wonder she doesn't get along with any of us.'

"What about the two behind you?" Chrom decided to ask.

"I just don't want to go back to living like a slave," Nowi told him. "Those monsters would throw food at me and demand for me to do trick after trick when I transformed."

"Tr-transformed?" Chrom asked, looking surprised.

"Into a big effing Dragon yeah," Ragna told him, a little perplexed that Chrom hadn't seen it. "That mean anything?"

"It means young one is not so young!" Gregor said with a laugh. "A Manakete is what she is, they live for long long time!"

"Hey, you're making me sound old!" Nowi said before kicking Gregor in the shin which he winced at slightly. "I'm only a thousand!"

"A thousand?!" most people shouted in disbelief.

 _'Just like Rachel… well long living loli wise at least,'_ Ragna thought to himself. "I don't want to bring a kid into a war, but she's probably pretty tough."

"Hey, you guys helped saved me for the slavers so I owe you one," Nowi told him with an energetic smile. "Plus your group seems pretty crazy! It's been so long since I've had fun with anyone!"

"Well there you go," Ragna said before looking at Gregor. "And you?"

"Gregor should stick around, he knows there's a bit of money to be made here as a swell sword!" Gregor told them.

"You mean sell sword?" Chrom tried to correct.

"A very swell one!" Gregor laughed. Chrom groaned and shook his head while Nowi laughed. "Now to the making of camp!"

 _ **Much Later**_

Ragna gave a small yawn as he got out of his cot. He'd taken a small nap after the fight to make sure he was well rested for the next day. He knew he'd more or less be find, but now wasn't the time to be taking chances especially since his BlazBlue had been throbbing back in Regna Ferox. He exitted his tent and began taking a small stroll around the immediate area. He caught sight of Frederick going from tent to tent, probably doing a routine camp check.

As he continued walking, he eventually passed by Robin and with one glance he could see that something was wrong. For one thing, he'd seen tomatoes with less red than her face.

"What the heck happened to you?"

"I… um, it's kind of hard to say…" Robin began. "I sort of saw Chrom… in the bathing tent…"

"Oh," Ragna answered simply, knowing that this was some strange form of full circle for the two. "So… how did you two deal with it?"

"We sort of just talked it out," Robin told him with a sigh. "At the very least I feel that we both got over a bit of that tension now that we're on… equal grounds…"

"Not exactly the best way to end it, but I guess it's still an ending," Ragna sighed before chuckling. "How shocked was he when he saw you walking in?"

"His eyes were the size of plates," Robin told him, laughing now that the event was behind him. "I kind of feel bad for throwing that soap dish at him though."

"You're quick to fire I'm guessing," Ragna commented.

"I guess," Robin admitted with a smile. "At least I can put this behind me."

As Robin went inside her tent, Ragna stayed outside and chuckled as he tried to imagine how the scene would have played out. Chrom screaming? Probably. Robin blaming him? Double check. Hard things getting thrown at our dear prince? Check, check, and check.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Robin scream inside her tent. Knowing full well that this could be an assassination attempt, Ragna quickly burst into the room seeing Robin with a large blush as she covered her eyes away and was turned away from… _an abomination._

It was a poster of Chrom, probably a motivational poster of sorts with the words _'CHROM WANTS YOU!'_ on it. It showed a rather… full portrayal of the prince of Ylisse, carrying nothing but a scale and a sword as he posed… naked.

"What… the…?" Ragna said, staring at the poster as Robin tried her best not to look at it. Hearing the tent flap open he saw a sweating and blushing Chrom, holding several of the posters and which appeared to be badly torn. He noticed Robin on the ground and the look Ragna was giving him.

"Frederick…" he panted. "He… thought… it would… raise moral…"

"Say no more," Ragna told him as he ripped up the drawing on Robin's tent wall and followed Chrom outside to dispose of the others, leaving the still blushing tactician inside.

After the two had finally managed to tear down the other posters before anyone could see them they quickly used Ragna's magic to burn them.

"Well that's done," Ragna sighed. "Poor Robin though… having to suffer through that twice in a day."

"I'm a victim too!" Chrom shouted. "Sully was about to give me a black eye for entering her tent! And Vaike nearly tore the papers away from me saying I was hiding something naughty!"

"Ouch," Ragna had to agree. "At least we got them all."

And it was at THAT moment that the two heard laughter coming from one of the tents… uncontrolled laughter… Lissa's laughter.

"I thought you said that you got the ones in the west!" Chrom shouted.

"You said that you already took care of all of the ones on the south side of camp!" Ragna shouted. "Her tent is SOUTH-west ya idiot!"

"Well what am I supposed to do!? Chrom shouted as Lissa continued to laugh. "She's seen the picture!"

"I'll get the poster from Lissa, you talk to Frederick," Ragna said to him. "Could be worse…"

"How could it be worse!?" Chrom shouted at him.

"Frederick could've taken to sword away; it actually covered up most of the damage," Ragna said, making Chrom cringe. "And you think my work policy is absurd."

"Not so much now," Chrom said darkly as he went to find Frederick.

Walking into Lissa's tent, Ragna found the princess rolling on the floor in laughter at the bizarre picture in front of her.

"Don't laugh at him," Ragna muttered as he grabbed the poster and tore it to shreds. "Imagine if that had been you."

"I know, I know…" Lissa said as she wiped a tear out of her eyes. "You can't deny that it's funny!"

"...Okay, true, but I still don't think you should laugh at him."

"Yet you always seem to heckle him," Lissa suggested with a smile.

"Meh, if it's heckle or kiss up Chrom'd prefer the former," Ragna said with a smirk as he headed outside the tent.

 _ **The Rabbit and the Reaper**_ ( **Cue** Such Bonds are the True Strength of This Army)

Once he was outside he caught sight of Panne sitting by her lonesome a short distance away from the encampment. Sighing to himself at her reclusiveness, Ragna again headed out to talk to her though he didn't know if she'd even listen to him.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked when he got close enough.

"Do what you will," Panne told him standoffishly. Taking that as a yes, Ragna sat down beside her.

"You alright?" he decided to ask.

"...Thanks to you I'm at least alive," Panne told him before shaking her head. "Sorry, I have a difficult time talking to people or thanking them."

"Well just did both more or less so that's progress," Ragna said with a small smirk.

Panne herself gave a sad smile. "I suppose I did…"

"So what are you doing out here all alone? I doubt that sand makes decent company.."

"I was thinking to myself about… something from a long time ago. That man from earlier, he talked about hunting my kind, and sad to say that's something that I've witnessed."

Ragna said nothing, he knew how empty "I'm sorry," could sound right now. Panne didn't want pity, she'd most likely wanted to be left alone, but the Reaper stayed.

"My mother she… she told me that I shouldn't judge all humans with scorn, that there are good and bad ones… right before I saw her die with the rest of my home."

"...Then why are you sticking with the rest of us?" Ragna asked. "We're heading to the fight of our lives. If you're really the last Tagul, don't you want to live?"

"You weren't there, but I talked to Emmeryn back in Ylisse, she was kind. She even apologized to me when I told her I'd lost my home, while it was not her duty to do so and no fault lie with her. I trusted her."

"I guess that made her the first human you trusted," Ragna concluded.

"Yes… and then I met you," Panne said, giving him something of a smile.

The Reaper was silent for a long moment before speaking. "Earlier you wanted to know about my master and the Beastkin and I told you that you couldn't find them. Well the truth is… complicated, I'm… well, I'm not from this world."

"I see," Panne said to him. She didn't sound doubtful, more like she was trying to measure the weight Ragna had put on those words and what they'd mean. "Does Chrom know?"

"He does," Ragna told her. "I grew up in a small church in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't much, but I had my brother Jin, my sister Saya, and woman taking care of us so I was happy. Then we were attacked by this sadistic _freak_ …"

Ragna then proceeded to tell Panne his entire story to Panne, his third time telling it since he'd been here. Unlike most other stories though, this didn't get easier to tell over time. Panne didn't say anything throughout, she just listened to what he had to say.

"-and then I wound up in a field outside SouthTown and met Chrom," Ragna finally finished before taking and letting out a deep breath. "So you kept up with all of that?"

"Yes, and it seems like you've been through a lot yourself," Panne summarized sorrowfully. "Is that why you stuck out for me, because you thought we were similar?"

"More like I wanted to make sure you didn't do anything stupid and die on me, but sure, let's go with that," Ragna told her, chuckling despite the current mood.

"Well regardless, you've saved my life so I owe you a debt of gratitude," Panne said to him.

"That's not really necessary," Ragna told her, a little nervously at that.

"I'm afraid it is," Panne told him. "I'd like you to answer me soon, though, I'd prefer if we didn't have debts between us."

"Well…" Ragna began, scratching his head as he looked at Panne. "I do have something, but… it's kind of embarrassing."

Noticing the sudden blush on Ragna's face, Panne began growing worried. _'Oh Naga, he's a pervert.'_ "What is it you want?"

"J-just close your eyes," Ragna asked her.

Steeling herself for whatever he had planned and readying her foot to plant itself firmly in his groin, Panne complied. She took a hesitant breath and waited for a second… two… then she felt Ragna softly petting the top of her head.

"What are you doing?" she opened her eyes and stared up at him.

"I kinda have a thing for soft animal ears," Ragna admitted before noticing Panne's look. "I-I-I'll stop."

"No!" Panne said, though she didn't necessarily mean to shout. Now Ragna was the one staring and she was the one blushing. "Er… take your time." Ragna shrugged before continuing. Somehow, petting bunny ears relieved him of more stress than he thought… and Panne felt a weight lifted off her shoulders as well.

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Panne**_ (End Theme)

Feeling much better now, Panne returned to the campsite and went to lay in her tent to rest. Ragna stayed outside in the desert for a time and looked up at the stars. Trying to calm himself for tomorrow.

"Looks like this is going to be it," he said aloud, though he knew there was no one listening to what he said. "Either I manage to get Emmeryn out of the capital or I get reminded that I still can't save the people I care about."

Deciding that he'd rested enough for now and that a little further training couldn't hurt, Ragna rose from the sand and dusted his clothes off. He was about to head a little deeper into the sand wastes, but then he saw a familiar face a short distance off from the nearby oasis.

 _ **Never Forgotten**_ ( **Cue** … (Yes that's the actually Awakening Song Name))

When Ragna approached Aversa he expected her to say something snarky at him, something suggestive… he wasn't expecting to hear her crying.

'What the hell…?' Ragna then saw what she was looking down on. A small tombstone, freshly made sandy wood. Encarved on the front were a few words.

Here Lies Tenebris, A Strong And Loyal Pegasus

"How much more?" Aversa could barely say while Ragna stood beside her. "How much more are they going to take from me?"

"Don't ask me, I didn't grow up with 'em," Ragna said curtly as he stared at the tomb. "What else do you have to lose?"

"My life…" Aversa suggested.

"Yeah, they could take that," Ragna agreed.

"What little belongings I have left…" she offered.

"Probably," he admitted.

"My body…"

"They'll try."

"You're not exactly reassuring me," Aversa told him. "Then again I wouldn't say that you were reassuring when I was in a cell earlier."

"Well what's going to keep you going?" Ragna had to ask.

"I have no idea," she admitted. "I feel like… a puppet. I don't have any control, I feel like there's something pulling my strings, just leading me into more and more misery the further along I go."

"Then you know what I felt like," Ragna said as he looked down at the tombstone. "What was he like?"

"...It's hard to admit, but he was a gift from my fath- from Validar," Aversa told him. "He didn't listen to me at first, in fact he bucked me off the very first time I rode him."

"Ouch," Ragna said, trying to smirk for her sake. "From how high up?"

"Not very, otherwise I don't think I'd be talking to you," Aversa said, smiling slightly. "Eventually we grew used to each other, he'd always obey my commands when we flew, and I'd sneak sugar cubes from the kitchen for him."

"How many did you keep for yourself?" Ragna asked, a slight tinge of humor in his voice.

"Oh, stop it you," Aversa said, somewhat playfully slapping Ragna's arm before looking again at the tombstone. "They did terrible things to him… he didn't die quickly, they made sure he'd suffer on my account… I can't imagine what he felt…"

"Then don't," Ragna said to her. "Remember the good times you've spent with him, what he meant to you when he was alive, that you miss him. That's enough to do right by him and keep you sane."

"You speak from experience after losing someone dear to you?" she asked. Ragna nodded. He'd hopped that his words might've helped Aversa, but then he heard her crying once more. "I'm sorry… you must think I'm weak…"

"Well…" Ragna began as he glanced around, not seeing anyone in the immediate area. "I guess if you needed to be weak, here's a good enough place."

At Ragna's words, Aversa let herself cry in full for the first time since she'd been told about Validar's betrayal. The Reaper slowly brought her into a comforting embrace, gently shhing her as she cried into his chest… just how he'd cared for someone he'd loved dearly so long ago.

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Aversa**_

 _ **Author's Note: Don't own anything.**_

 _ **Quick note, there's a petition going to bring the BlazBlue dubs back. I'm personally a part of it and it you want to join, look it up on Chang org. We're up to 2,400 and can use whatever support we can get.**_

 _ **OMAKE TIME.**_

 _ **An Unwanted Participant**_

Ragna was once more in the training yard, swinging his giant blade while it carried additional weights to make it more challenging to control. His swings began to grow faster and faster, his mind began to race as his body quickly shifted to transition from one move to the next. He was so focused that he almost didn't see the attack coming straight for him.

The Reaper quickly turned and directed Blood-Scythe through the sword shaped icicle that had been sailing right for him, causing it to shatter upon impact. Knowing full well that there was only one man in the camp who could and would send it, he was unsurprised when his eyes found his younger brother.

"You seem to be training diligently," Jin said to Ragna. His voice and face were devoid of emotion, though this meant they lacked the usual blood-thirsty persona Ragna was used to seeing whenever the two met.

"You weren't trying to hit me." It wasn't a question, yet it still awaited a response.

"I have something I'd like you to answer," Jin informed him. "And if I tried to talk to you you'd likely have just ignored me."

"Get the point already," Ragna ordered.

Jin sighed. "And everyone here thinks that I'm the colder one. Are you just acting this way to me? What am I saying? Of course you are. Anyways, I overheard Chrom and Robin discussing strategy earlier and went to give my input. I was surprised to realize they hadn't assigned me a role yet and when I brought it up to them they said I wasn't to engage in the next fight. When I asked whose idea it was they went silent."

"I dunno, maybe someone hates that arrogant attitude of yours, you ever think of that?" Ragna suggested.

"Can the song and dance brother, I already know it you who wanted me to stay out, the question is why?"

"Because I can't stand you, plus I wouldn't trust you around anyone here on the battlefield."

"Yet you've made no threats to me," Jin noted. "Did you want me off the battlefield for my own safety?"

"Yeah, because that makes so much more sense," Ragna told his little brother gruffly.

"Just give me a straight answer," Jin demanded. "Why don't you want me fighting?"

"Because you didn't come here alone," Ragna said darkly as he heard footsteps approaching and saw Tsubaki coming towards them with a bitter expression.

"Are you two about to fight?" she asked them, awaiting an answer with a glare.

"Not if I have any say," Ragna muttered.

"We were just discussing my involvement in the upcoming battle," Jin explained to his wife before glaring at her brother-in-law. "Or lack of."

"...I'm not sending you to fight when Tsubaki's pregnant," Ragna finally admitted.

"Leave the worrying of future fatherhood to me," Jin told him. "You need every man on the front lines and you know that I'm the best fighter that you have."

"You want to prove that you're ready?" Ragna asked as he was beginning to grow annoyed. "You can fight me right here and now."

"Gladly," Jin Kisaragi said as he drew his blade.

"Both of you stop it right now!" Tsubaki ordered. She marched up and stuck her index finger right in her husband's face. "You told me earlier that you'd do whatever you could to keep me and the baby safe, so protect the encampment! It's better than fighting your brother and putting both of you out of commision."

"Like that'd happen," Ragna grunted before Tsubaki's index finger found its way in front of his face.

"And I think you can stand to be a little nicer," she told him. "Jin's just trying to help in this war and he'd do a lot to help your new friends if you let him."

"Get that thing out of my face," Ragna threatened darkly.

"You're not fooling anyone Ragna, I know you well enough now to know that you'd never think to endanger a pregnant woman." The Reaper couldn't really argue with that.

"Tch… just don't end up doing something you'll regret," he told her. "You're endangering the kid enough just by being here." Not awaiting a response, the Reaper left the two.

"And you still married me despite his attitude?" Jin questioned with a sad smile.

"He just wants what's best for us, I can see that now," Tsubaki told him. She gave he husband a wink before letting out a small pained groan.

"Something wrong?" Jin heard his brother say as he quickly re-approached them. He hadn't even heard Ragna coming and he was sure his brother had been out of earshot.

"Oh, I just felt a kick, nothing major," Tsubaki assured him with a smile.

Ragna, however, frowned. "It seems a little early to feeling it move. Are you sure?"

"Might've just been my imagination, I'm fine Ragna," Tsubaki told him. Eventually Ragna nodded and continued on his way like he had earlier. "See?"

"Well I can see he's going to be the protective type with the baby…" Jin began in amazement. "Though I don't know what idiot's going to threaten a child with the Grim Reaper for an uncle."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Jin and Tsubaki Kisaragi**_

 _ **Family setting… Yay! Review responses.**_

RedRat8: Thanks, that's what I had in mind for him. He's the the honorable type unlike the jerk, Charlard in this chapter.

EternalCobra34: Hazama would indeed have fun. As for Hierophant, Minos isn't THE Hierophant, that's just the name of his position.

Kalakuai: I have plans for what's coming up, but interesting harem idea.

Rotciv445: We both talked already, but Lon'qu is indeed from Regna Ferox.

Warrior of six blades: Thanks for another long review, It's always great to hear your thoughts.

H Yang: Wow, is it really that many? I didn't even realize… This story got bigger than I thought it would.

Not Guest P: All three of those seem popular, and a connection might exist, we just don't know for sure.

Adv: It really is… Also, working on dubs.

Mugen7: I'd find it hard to believe that Jubei wouldn't teach Ragna ANY sword work. He didn't want him to think of the Azure of his own, and frankly without sword training he'd have to use it EVERY fight, which would be dangerous. Emm didn't give anything much away, Minos knows Ragna's from another world, but there's most likely a lot that he doesn't know. Again, Hierophant, just a title people.

Thunder Dragon: An interesting idea… but I'm not sure I can envision that like you can…

Marconator360: Yeah, Rags and Bullet is always nice.

Guest (1): Thanks for the catch, but don't go around addressing all of my grammar mistakes. I'm going to go back over all of my chapters and fix them all.

Fieryfoxpaws: A straight up thank you? Well you're certainly welcome.

 _ **Until next time everyone! Ciao!**_


	22. Five Roles: One Stage

_**Chapter XXII: The Exalt, The Prince, The Mad King, The Judge, and The Grim Reaper**_

' _Dammit body, SLEEP!'_ Ragna grunted as he twisted and turned in his cot, trying to fall asleep. He knew that the next day was almost certainly going to be the most important in his life, and he wanted to be well rested for it.

The Reaper still considered going all out and try to finish off Gangrel's army while the rest of the Shepherds were busy with preparations, but he knew that there was too much that could go wrong with that; Grangel could kill Emm before he got there, she could die during the rescue, or god knew what else.

A spy had come back recently to report that Emmeryn was going to be executed in the morning, and Robin already had a plan ready to save her so now came the hardest part for him, the calm before the storm, the wait.

' _If Chrom says anything about not getting enough sleep before we head out tomorrow I'll sock him in the gut,'_ Ragna thought as he get out of his cot and put his hakama pants over his boxers and his shirt over his chest. He also considered putting on his boots and jacket on as well, but decided it wasn't that cold. Plus, he'd always worn clothing to avoid making others feel uncomfortable by having to look at his arm, now was his chance to let himself be little more comfortable outside of his somewhat stuffy clothing.

Walking outside of his tent and passing through the flaps he took a breath of fresh air and looked up at the stars. They seemed unusually bright tonight, almost as a sign that something was to happen tomorrow. Shaking his head, he walked outside of the tent grounds before he was a short distance away. Deciding he'd try and calm his nerves, Ragna laid on the cool sand as he tried to calm himself, he gazed up at the stars and the large full moon that took up a large portion of the sky, looming overhead dauntingly.

"Now I get what he was afraid of," the Reaper muttered to himself as he slowly closed his eyes.

 _ **Unknown Location**_

" _ **My Lord, please answer my call, I beg of thee to listen…**_ "

Out of the darkness a horrid set of red eyes shone forth, towering over Minos, yet he did not falter, nor did he fear what was before him yet it was frightening.

" _ **I allow you to speak, so do so… And do not tell of trivial tasks… Lest I now deem you unworthy…**_ " the voice said to him, echoing hauntingly throughout the void.

" _ **Lord Grima,**_ " Minos said as his form bowed to a single knee. " _ **The Shepherds are a short distance from the capital, and their guard is high. The Mad King does not seek to attack them, he wants them to watch him kill the Exalt.**_ "

" _ **Ah yes, the death of Lady Emmeryn…**_ " the voice laughed, a terrible, hollow laugh to would've sent shivers to anyone else, but Minos appeared to be unaffected. " _ **I'll enjoy watching her die once more… Seeing her impaled upon that assassin's blade the first time was a sight to behold, but perhaps watching her fall to her death may be even better.**_ **"**

" _ **As you say my lord… But we may have an issue in our problems, it seems that the Reaper is likely to appear, the same Reaper who struck down Validar and eradicated any chances of his revival. We must be prepared for him…**_ **"**

" _ **And you've already done so, have you not? You've already claimed that your stratagem will work… Are you certain?**_ **"**

" _ **Yes, after today we'll have deal a massive blow to the-**_ **"** Minos paused as he seemed to focus his powers differently. **"** _ **I sense conflict nearby…**_ **"**

" _ **As do I… We shall not speak again until your duty is done. Minos, do not fail me…**_ **"**

The darkness faded around Minos resulting in leaving him kneeling in the main ceremonial chambers. Slowly standing he made opened the chamber doors and found his right hand man, Pharos, waiting outside for him, a very grim expression on his face. Pharos hadn't entered the chambers because only Hierophants were permitted to enter whenever they were in use by another member of the Grimleal.

" _ **What has happened?**_ **"**

"Fifty men from the king's main army led by General Maverick are at the gates demanding to see you," Pharos told him. "They are heavily armored and well armed. If their demands are not met, they threaten to break down the doors when they come back with a much larger force, killing all in the temple."

" _ **Infighting at a time like this…**_ **"** Minos said in great annoyance as he shook his hooded head. " _ **I cannot allow this to continue, let them inside and lead them to this chamber, I shall deal with them myself.**_ **"**

"Are you certain?" Pharos had to question. "If we lose you the Grimleal with go into even further unrest and we'll be destroyed from the inside. We've already lost Chalard earlier this day, why risk anything more?"

" _ **Your concern is noted, but I will not be in any danger, nor will the rest of the order. Chalard fell because he was too prideful, too cocky, and too spiteful towards Validar's former daughter; I am none of those. Lead them here and seal the door, this will be settled quickly…**_ **"**

Knowing his master had something in mind, Pharos bowed. "As you say my lord, as you say…" Quickly hurrying to the temple gates Pharos ran past several servants and told them to go into hiding for the time being before making his way to the entrance. "Open the gates, I'll go out to meet them myself. Warn everyone, head to your quarters, bar the doors, and don't try anything; Maverick's killed a farmer's boy because his pitchfork was momentarily pointing in his direction when he was bowing."

The gatekeepers nodded as they opened the gates before running off towards their quarters. Pharos steeled himself before walking outside to speak with General Maverick. He knew full well that he'd better chose his words carefully, or risk discovering if Grima could revive a man twice… if he was even worthy of such an honor.

Maverick was a tall man who was well armored in his dark crimson armor. His blond hair was tied up in a ponytail in the back and his narrow face and his features would've made him a handsome man, if not for the long scar across his left eye which was only partially covered with his eye patch. Unlike most of his soldiers who used a shield, Maverick wielded a two-handed greatsword and had been able to cut through seven men with a single powerful swing.

"Pharos," he noted somewhat emotionlessly. "It's been some time since we've last seen each other… The battle of of the Highland Forest was it?"

"Indeed," Pharos said to him. "I believe you wished to see our Hierophant? Right this way."

"No games, you know how much I detest tricks," Maverick told him threateningly.

"Yes I remember," Minos said as he walked alongside the General. "Like that village girl that you'd saved from those bandits in Ylisse; you two _warmed_ up to each other rather quickly if I recall correctly."

"Yes, and she tried to kill me in my own bed while she kept me warm… She took my eye and I took her head," Maverick said, gritting his teeth at the memory. "I'll never allow myself to be played a fool like that again." His good eye narrowed as they walked along the hallways, his troops footsteps echoing as they walked along. "Where's the rest of your order? Are they waiting for you to give the signal so they can spring a trap?"

"No, Lord Minos has instructed that they stay to their quarters until this conflict is resolved," Pharos assured.

"And this Minos, the one who believes himself to be Grima's judge, does he plan to allow us to cut him down where he stands?"

"I…" Pharos choked on the phrase for a moment before speaking. "I believe he plans to slay all fifty of you himself, if it comes to it."

"I see…" Maverick said before glaring his green eye at Pharos. "Back in the Highland forest you saved my life from that enemy Sage; this is the only reason I'm not cutting you down this instant."

"I understand…" Pharos said as he saw the largest chamber of prayer in front of them. He saw Minos kneeling in the center room, awaiting for the guests he was about to receive. "Please Maverick, rethink this."

"You push your rights to life," the General threatened. "Men, spread out and surround the false judge. He dies today."

Maverick's soldier were loyal to a fault and quickly entered the room, surrounding the Hierophant with their weapons drawn. Pharos sighed as he knew there was no chance anyone would listen to reason. Using the strength he'd trained hard for, he closed the heavy chamber doors and barred them shut, leaving his Master alone with the enemy forces.

Inside Minos had yet to move from where he knelt, The soldiers seemed to be minding their distance from him for the moment, though all weapons remained trained on him.

" _ **I see that you've come to slay me...**_ **"** Minos noted. **"** _ **Allow me to ask… why?**_ **"**

"To see that your little charade ends here," Maverick said to him emotionlessly. "You might've fooled your cult and the townspeople that you're the voice of Grima, but I won't be fooled by you and your so-called miracles!"

" _ **And there we have it,**_ **"** Minos said before giving a raspy laugh. " _ **You do this not from orders from your superiors, not out of any sense of honor or pride… You do this because you're scared of me… A General, clad in his strong and endurant armor, is scared of a single robed man… You seem wiser, at least than the rest of those fools.**_ **"**

"I fear no man!" Maverick shouted as the he readied to give the command. "Any last words pretender?"

" _ **Yes, though I have only five… YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF.**_ **"**

(Cue _**Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix**_ _Darkness of the Unknown Armored Xemnas II_ )

Minos's entire body became shrouded in a dark purple flame as he stood, causing the very room to tremble at his power. Some of the soldiers began to stagger in their stance while sweat formed on the faces of others, each with doubts about the humanity of the being in front of them.

"KILL HIM!" Maverick called as is men roared before throwing their javelins and throwing axes, all of which barely touched the flames before shattering to pieces. "wh-WHAT IS THIS!?"

" _ **The blessing of the Fell Dragon,**_ **"** Minos told them as he channeled the darkness and created a Halberd with a massive axe blade before quickly cleaving through the closest knights, decapitating their heads from their bodies. Another soldier wielding a silver axe rushed forward, but Minos easily blocked it by turning his weapon into a short sword and holding him back with a single hand. In his other hand he created a dagger and thrust through a gap in his helmet, killing the man instantly.

Several arches shot a rapid volley of arrows at him, but Minos thrust his hand out and the arrows froze in the air, all shrouded in shadowy flames. Swinging his hand the arrows returned to their shooters, impaling them in their faces.

An unmounted Great Knight then rushed forwards towards him with a steel sword, but Minos nimbly dodged each swing, giving off a raspy laugh while he did so before creating a spear out of his darkness. Deflecting the sword, by merely using the shaft, and then knocking the shield away Minos then stabbed the Great Knight through, puncturing through both sides of his armor without resistance. Noticing the other knight approaching from behind he swung his lance behind him in an upward arc, turning it into a scythe as he did so, and cleaved him into two vertical halves.

" _ **All that fancy armor for nothing,**_ **"** Minos noted before laughing raspily once more. An axe wielding knight approached him, but he changed his weapon set to twin Longswords deflected the initial strike, and carved the man to pieces.

"We can't beat him!" one of Maverick's men shouted. "We need to get the hell out of here!"

"Hold your ground!" Maverick shouted as Minos used his twin blades to carve apart another knight's spear before stabbing his twin longswords through his armor. "We can't let him continue to use our kingdom for his own agendas!"

"Screw our kingdom! I want to live!" the soldier shouted as he ran to the doors and tried to open them, but all the succeeded was barely managing to shake it open. "OPEN DAMN IT! OP-!" he screamed as he was struck with a volley of darkness forged arrows, puncturing him fatally several times over.

" _ **Do not run! This is your fate! Those guilty of defying the Fell Dragon and his order will be brought to justice!**_ **"** Minos shouted as he cut through another lance user with both of his swords before connecting both sword by their handles and turning the weapon into a double sword. Swinging with deadly accuracy, he cleaved through several more men before coming to another knight wielding a large hammer swung his weapon downward. Minos held his weapon ready to guard, but the hammer cleaved right through it and disrupted the weapon turning it into unstable dark energy.

"He's weaponless!" the knight shouted. "We can kill him! We can-!" His last sentence went interrupted as Minos used the dark energy to form a Greatsword and used the weapon to cleave the knight's shield, armor, and body in half with a single clean swing.

" _ **Am I!?**_ **"** Minos shouted as he impaled his blade through another foolish knight. _'_ _ **I control my darkness and I can make whatever weapon suits my needs!**_ **"** The Grimleal's leader unleashed a wicked slash that severed one knight's head form his body, before blocking another's lance before cutting the attack across the throat. More and more knights poured into the battlefield, yet they were all easily mowed down by the Hierophant until only he and Maverick remained.

" _ **One left,**_ **"** Minos said as he dispatched the last of them before turning to the General. **"** _ **I wish you hadn't succumbed to your fear… I might've found you useful in the coming war.**_ **"**

"Enough of this folly," Maverick told him. "If I'm going to die I'd rather it be from a sword than the sheer boredom of listening to your prophecies."

" _ **A warrior until the end… As you wish, I shall give you a proper death,**_ **"** Minos said as he rushed forward. His initial sword swing was blocked so he quickly transition to the next one which came from the side, again blocked. Maverick retaliated by stabbing at him, but he quickly dodged before bringing his sword down, causing the General to take a step back in retreat.

Blades clashed once more, sending out bright sparks. Maverick brought his sword down in a powerful arc, but Minos blocked the attack with his sword at an angle sending the off to the side. Maverick grunted as he brought his sword back to try and slash at Minos's side. In a short instant, Maverick swore he could see the enigma's lower face and the haunting smile he was giving… right before his right arm was cleaved off and his sword was sent flying out of his grasp.

(End Theme)

Maverick screamed in agony right before Minos cut at his legs, sending him to his knees. He glared up at the Hierophant as blood continued to spill profusely from his shoulder.

" _ **You made that far too easy for me…**_ **"** Minos said as he towered over the kneeling knight. He brought the greatsword above his head and readied himself to deliver the final blow. **"** _ **Have you a last request?**_ **"**

"I… I do…" Maverick said as he gasped for air. "Please… remove your hood for me… if only for my last moments… show me what you really are…"

" **...** _ **Granted.**_ **"** Keeping his sword held with his right hand, he used his left hand and reached under the cowl over his face before bringing it back. He smirked as he saw Maverick gape at the details he saw. Skin that had looked to have rotted before being unholy healed, brutal cuts that had barely faded, long flowing crimson hair, black sclera eyes with purple irises, and then there was his face… his face with that haunting smile.

"I-I- Y-y-y-you're-!" Maverick shouted as his eye grew in his deepest fear.

" _ **For your crimes against Grima and his servants I execute you here!**_ **"** Minos shouted before he brought his sword down and cleaved the General in half.

Letting his sword dissolve, there was silence for a moment as Minos looked at the carved bodies in the room before smiling, putting the hood back over his face once more, and heading towards the doorway.

" _ **Enjoy thy feast… my lord…**_ **"** Minos said as he waited outside the doorway for a moment.

"Is it over?" Pharos could only ask from the other side.

" _ **It is…**_ **"** Minos told him. **"** _ **Open the door, we still have much to prepare for tomorrow…**_ **"**

"At once," Pharos said as he began to unbar the doorway. "I'll find a few servants to clean the mess in the chamber. We'll have it as clean by the time you need it for its next ritual."

" _ **Oh?**_ **"** Minos questioned as the doors were finally opened. Pharos looked at his master for a moment before gaping at the room behind. It was empty, not a trace of bodies, equipment, or even blood. It looked like nothing had transpired. **"** _ **I don't believe that will be necessary.**_ **"**

 _ **Meanwhile- The Plegian Deserts**_

"Errr…Grrr…" Ragna groaned in his sleep before opening his eyes and wincing at the headache he was receiving. He glanced to his BlazBlue which seemed to be giving off a strange sort of feeling, not one that was painful or comforting, just a strange sort of pulse. "The _Azure Grimoire_ is… reacting, but to what?" Ragna said to himself as the feeling slowly started to fade. "What in the hell was that feeling? It's gone now, but something's up…"

Shaking his head, Ragna laid on the ground once more and looked up at the stars, trying to think of what could have caused this. His Azure had reacted before when it was afraid of Hakumen, but for all he knew the White Susanooh was still back in his home world. Then there was Terumi and his S.O.L. code, but that deactivated his Azure, not caused it to go out of control. The Imperator could certainly send him out of control, but Ragna knew all too well that it couldn't be her.

"Am I overusing this thing?" Ragna had to question allowed before sighing. "Nah, that can't be right; I wasn't using it at all before I went to sleep,"

Letting his head fall back to the sands, Ragna looked up at the stars. The moon had moved since he'd fallen asleep now no longer covering most of his view of the sky.

 _Star Gazing_ (Cue _Id Serenity_ )

The Reaper let out a yawn before his moment of peace was interrupted by be the beating of giant wings and the painful feeling of sand blasted in his eyes.

"Damn it!" Ragna shouted as he tried spit the tiny grits out of his mouth. "What the hell!?"

"Hey! Mind the language!" Nowi's voice said as she lost her transformed state. "I'm still a kid you know!"

'You say that, but you're over a thousand! Or are we just talking about maturity!?" Ragna yelled at Nowi before he finally managed the get all of the sand out of his mouth. "So what are you doing here anyways?"

"Well I couldn't sleep because I was so happy that I'd found someone new to play with so I decided to take a walk and then I saw you off in the distance!" Nowi said happily.

"Okay then, next question. WHY did you decide to transform and fly over to me?" Ragna asked with irritation. "Couldn't you have just I dunno, walked?"

"Well I didn't know it was you," Nowi said pouting. "I thought it was someone trying to spy on the camp. I wanted to catch you so that I could bring you to Chrom and the others."

"So you decided to barrel toward them as a freakin' dragon?" Ragna deadpanned. "Wow, I can't even begin with what's wrong with that…"

"What about you?" the Manakete asked. "What are you doing out here anyways?"

"Couldn't sleep in my tent for whatever reason, thought I'd try sleeping outdoors," Ragna said with a huff. "At least to was my plan before I got waken up by a thousand year old girl!"

"You're making me feel old," Nowi pouted before looking up at the sky. "At least there are a lot of stars tonight, perfect for stargazing!"

"Pass," Ragna nonchalantly grunted as he fell on his back.

"Aw come on! It'll be fun!" Nowi begged.

"I've got a big day tomorrow," Ragna reminded. "So do you, so go to sleep."

"Oh, do you want a lullaby then? I can probably give a good lullaby!" Nowi offered excitedly. "Maybe if I do it as a dragon-"

"...Fine, go look at the stars," Ragna said, knowing that he wanted to keep some shred of his dignity. Smiling to herself, Nowi took a seat beside him before pointing up into the sky.

"Look right there," she said, pointing to a large cluster of stars. "That's a constellation called the Chef."

"The Chef?" Ragna repeated, only seeing a group of stars. "What're you talking about?"

"You're looking at it wrong," Nowi told him, pointing again. "See? He's carrying a ladle in his left hand, he's got a goofy hat, and big potbelly!"

"Huh, yeah I guess I can see it now," Ragna said mildly impressed. "Not bad."

"You think that's cool, take a look over there," Novi said with a bigger smile. "Over there we've got the hero king, Marth!"

' _Marth,_ ' Ragna thought, remember the name Chrom's future daughter was still going by .Taking another look at the sky he tried to figure out how to see the constellations. "Is that him there? Holding his sword up high?"

"Yeah, now you're getting it!" Nowi said happily before looking at another constellation and pointing. "This one's pretty tricky to find, but try to look for it."

Glancing in Nowi's guided direction, Ragna stared at the area for a few minutes. He could start to see a couple of stars that made a body, but what was it holding. A sword? No, there was a bend in the constellation. An axe? That didn't seem right either, Maybe a scythe… a scythe...

"A Reaper?" he guessed, causing Nowi's smile to grow even brighter.

"You got it!" she said happily. "That's the Grim Reaper of legend!"

"Of legend huh? I guess there's always one," Ragna chuckled to himself. "No matter where I go."

"What's that mean?" Nowi asked him.

"Nothing, just remembering something," Ragna said with a small smile. "So where'd you learn all of this anyways?"

"There was this caravan that I used to travel with about a hundred years ago!" Nowi told him happily. "I had a lot of fun with them!"

"Is that right?" Ragna said to her. ' _I guess that she's just the type of person to hop from place to place._ '

For a while Ragna just laid down as Nowi continued to point to the stars, the Reaper had to admit, it was pretty peaceful. Eventually though Nowi started seemed to turn drowsey, Ragna was about to suggest that she head back to her tent, but the next moment he heard snoring.

' _You've got to be kidding me…'_ Ragna internally groaned before he realized that he didn't know where Nowi's tent was. ' _Well I could stick here but…'_ He then remembered a very familiar magical… girl?

' _LOLI-EDGE!_ '

' _Damn it Luna,'_ Ragna thought to himself. ' _Maybe I can just sit a short distance away and keep an eye out._ Ragna then felt Nowi cling to his arm, much stronger than anyone would've thought. ' _Well I can still probably mover her to my tent and leave her there for the night,'_ he thought as he tried to bring his arm out.

"Don't…" he heard Nowi say from her sleep as he tried to move his arm. He saw that she was starting to tear up, grimacing at whatever nightmare she was having. "Don't leave me… Please, you have to keep going… I don't want to be alone again..."

'... _Right, she's been alive for a thousand years, she's probably had to say goodbye more times than most people,'_ Ragna thought sadly as he laid on his back and decided he'd deal with whatever happened in the morning. "Don't worry kid; like it or not I ain't going anywhere."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Nowi**_ (End theme)

Ragna stayed awake for a bit before finally deciding to get some rest, accusations of him and Nowi would be dealt with another time and he wanted to be well rested for tomorrow.

 _ **Ragna's Dream: Not Too Long Ago**_ _(With Central Fiction Coming Out, this is clearly NON-CANON to the official games)_

"You're not even coming to wedding?" Kagura asked as they walked along their encampment path. The Black Gale seemed pretty shocked at Ragna's decision, especially considering he'd been offered the role of best man. "You know how important this is going to be for your brother right?"

"Yeah, but I should stay out of this; I'm terrible in photos," Ragna said passively.

"You've never even been in a photo! And that illustration in your bounty poster doesn't count!" Kagura told him. "What the matter? Afraid you're going to see one of the blushing bridesmaids catch the bouquet and come running to yours tru-Hgh!?" That last part was grunted by Kagura as Ragna hit him in the gut.

"Don't push it you sleaze."

"Jeeze, learn to laugh would ya?" Kagura groaned before shaking the feeling off. "But seriously, what do you plan to do otherwise?"

"Guard the place and make sure that we don't get attacked while our guard is down,"Ragna told him. "We're still in the middle of a war and there's too much that can go wrong."

"If that's really what you want to do… but you should at least think of something to do, not everyday that your brother ties the knot."

"I'll see what I can find," Ragna promised as he parted ways with Kagura. Heading out he eventually came to a clearing with several types of plant life. He then remembered that there were supposed to be flowers as a theme at the wedding… but what did they look like again?

Looking around the clearing Ragna tried to remember… but for the life of him he couldn't. Then again he'd only glanced at the area before being shooed away by Celica and Makoto as they tried to finish setting up.

' _C'mon, the wedding's going to start soon… and I don't have any idea what to grab…'_ Ragna kept glancing around before deciding on a set of flowers that he figured was at least close match to the wedding selection.

Heading to the area that he thought was supposed to be for the bride's changing area he saw Noel standing outside. Ragna quickly hid the flowers behind his back.

"Hey Ragna," she said with a bright smile. "Change your mind about coming to the wedding?"

"Nah, just came to give my respects to bride," Ragna assured her. "Tsubaki ready?"

"I think so, let me check," Noel said as she headed to where Tsubaki had changed leaving Ragna waiting.

' _Please be right, please be right, please be right…'_ ' Ragna thought internally as Tsubaki finally came out. Now Ragna never really had an eye for any woman, let alone Tsubaki. They'd fought, she'd hated him, they'd been on the same side, she'd hated him, he'd protected her from getting a forced abortion, she hated him… a little less. She was his brother's girl, he knew that for a fact, but standing in her bridal dress with her hair done… well maybe she was _a little_ cute.

"Did you want something?" she asked, reminding Ragna why he'd come here.

"Uh… yeah," Ragna began as he brought the flowers from behind him. "I mean… it's not much… but I hope that you still like 'em."

"You got me flowers? Oh lilies," Tsubaki said as she took them from him. "Thank you I suppose, but why did you pick these?"

' _I was wrong,'_ Ragna thought before trying to downplay it. "W-well I figured you could use some decoration to go with your other flowers," he told her, trying to cover his mistake.

"I see, but they really don't go with the camellias we have as wedding flowers," Tsubaki thought as she motioned to one of the flowers she'd put in her hair for decoration, it didn't look anything like what Ragna had picked out. The bride smiled as she realized what he'd had been trying. "You trying to get me more camellias weren't you?"

"What? No, c'mon that's crazy, stop being crazy Tsubaki," Ragna tried to defend with a poker face so bad you'd tell he was playing a crappy hand in an instant.

"Really?" Tsubaki said as she eventually began giggle hard while holding the flowers.

"All right, all right, you got me," Ragna said as he put his hands on his hips and turned his head away. "And I know; I wasn't even close, just stop laughing at me."

"You have to admit it was funny," Tsubaki said still giggling a little. "But if you care enough to give me flowers after all we've been through, why won't you be at the wedding?"

"I don't do well at these kinds of things," Ragna admitted. "Plus, I didn't think I'd be welcome."

"...A week ago maybe not," Tsubaki admitted sadly. "But you've done so much for the two- I mean the three of us without wanting anything in return… are you sure you don't want to come?"

"...Positive, but make sure you and Jin take care of the kid, it should have a better life than we had to live through," Ragna said as he began walking away to begin his patrol.

"Ragna…" Tsubaki began causing the Reaper to stop. "I know you said you're going into hiding after this is over, but do you really want to do that?" The Reaper didn't answer. "Once the war's over Jin's going to be elevated to one of the highest positions and he'll be a war hero. We can work with some people, we can try to hide you so no one would know who you were…"

"...I'll think about it," Ragna promised as he began walking. "Have a good wedding."

"I will," she promised as she looked at the lilies she'd been given and smiled. "You know I'm going to be your sister by law?"

"By law? Who the hell do you think I am?" Ragna had called back with the smallest of smiles on his face.

 _ **Back to the Present**_

Ragna shook the sleepy feeling and sand off of his head as he awakened. He saw that Nowi had left, maybe she'd started getting ready for whatever she did in the morning… probably getting breakfast.

Getting up and dusting himself off with a little low powered wind magic, Ragna headed back to his tent before he finally get his coat and shoes (had to shake some of the sand out). Before he finally headed to the mess tent to get some food. Getting some of the porridge that Frederick had made, Ragna sat down on the empty side of his table.

 _Gregor Knows Best!_ (Cue _But Frederick, It's Nearly Dark_ )

"Oi, Ragna!" The Reaper noticed that the mercenary from yesterday, was heading over his way with his own bowl of porridge. "Why are you being so alone? Isn't Ragna missing his friends?"

"I just felt like eating by myself, uh Gregor right?" Gregor nodded. "It's no big deal I want some time to myself before the fight today."

"Time to self?" Gregor questioned before looking to where a couple of the other Shepherds were sitting, all of them trying to keep their spirits up, even at the strange joke that Vaike was telling. "No, no, time should be spent with others… Gregor knows this as important fact. Matters best resolved now so scary man can be himself on the battlefield; less weight on mind, yes?"

"You've got a point," Ragna nodded in admittance. "But scary man? Am I real that bad?"

"Constant bad words? Magic of Dark? Very violent? Scary person," Gregor explained. Yet again, Ragna could really argue.

"Can't do much about the last two, but I guess I can at least try to have at least a little less of a mouth on me." It hadn't been the first time Ragna had been asked to change his habit because of his more _direct_ choice of words, but it was his way of talking.

"Ah not something to easy to do, but Gregor has faith in scary red man! After all, Gregor was not so very different in his youth!"

"Wait, you swore a crap ton as a kid?" Ragna questioned a little perplexed. "You?"

"Aye, though Gregor supposes it could be hard to see, what with his innocent baby face!" Gregor said with a laugh.

"Er… sure, it's totally the face," Ragna said in a deadpan.

"But look at Gregor now, happy and merry, a swell sword with the smile his face!" Gregor said with a laughter. "Work hard enough and you can be just like Gregor!"

"Not really sure I want to be THAT happy," Ragna said. "I've got to take my work seriously."

"Aye, aye," Gregor conceded. "But too much work and you forget how to have fun! Gregor hopes that you remember this very important fact!"

"I've been told something similar more times than I'd care to remember," the Reaper told him before smiling. "But Ragna'll be sure to… do with the relaxing and not… Shit, can't do it."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained With Gregor**_ (End Theme)

Finally finishing his meal, Ragna exited the mess tent and decided he'd heed Gregor's advice and go to check on some of the Shepherd's he hadn't talked to in some time. Heading over to Miriel's tent, he stood outside and called out to her.

 _The Scholar and The Azure_ (Cue _**Path of Radiance**_ _Change of Scenery_ )

"Yo, Mirel? You in?" He didn't have to wait long as the red haired mage (the taller one) appeared in the tent flaps in front of him.

"Salutations Ragna, are you present in the hopes of discerning the arcane texts of magic?" Mirel asked him.

"Well I just wanted to stop by and say hi, but that doesn't really seem like that bad of an idea," Ragna admitted, now realizing this was the second person in a row he'd talked to with unusual speech patterns.

"My set trade from earlier is still in effect," Mirel reminded him. "An exchange of information between my magics and your BlazBlue…"

"Shoulda figured…" Ragna said with a shrug. Alright, what'd you want to know?"

"Perhaps the item's role of your arm would be a key beginning for discussion," Mirel suggested. "I find it rather hard to fathom that its original form was that of a human limb."

"Well it wasn't always," Ragna explained. "I heard this a long time ago and I didn't really ask for the details, but the original form of this thing was supposed to be of something we called a Cauldron."

"A cauldron? You tell me that your arm of unfathomable power was a mere mixing pot?" Mirel asked, the rare look of confusion on her face.

"No, it was actually a gateway into the _Boundary_ ," Ragna told her. "We just sort of called them Cauldrons because it produced… certain things. Also, the Azure Grimoire doesn't really have a set form; it's just my arm right now because that's what I needed it to be."

"How odd…" Mirel said as she glanced at it closer. "Have you ever tried changing it's form to better suit your own needs? I'm curious how far the possibilities extend."

"Tinkering around with this too much is risky, so I'm not in a big hurry to find out… though I have transformed it for one of my attacks, though I only use it when I'm really pissed at someone."

"I see… any other information you like to share with me?"

"That's probably everything, not much else I can think about," Ragna admitted.

"One important part to examine, a main contributor to the outworldly effects of your arm," Mirel said to him.

"And that is?" Ragna questioned.

"You," the mage told him plainly.

"Me? What about me?"

"A wise scholar once foretold that it is not the weapon that makes the man; the weapon is merely a tool. I hypothesize I still have much to learn about this artifact by studying the man who uses it."

"As long as I don't get dissected I guess that's fine," Ragna told her with a smirk. "Anyways, you think we could get into some spell work? I have these two spells that I've been meaning to get to for a while now…"

"Certainly, let us commence our practice!" Mirel said with unusual enthusiasm.

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Mirel**_ (End theme)

 _ **Spell Upgraded:**_ _Arcfire_ The attack mimics the spell of its name. It is the more powerful version of _Elfire_ , but costs more dark energy. The next level of fire magic, Bolganone, cannot be upgraded by practice alone; a usable tome of the spell must be found.

 _ **Spell Upgraded:**_ _Arcthunder_ The attack mimics the spell of its name. It is the more powerful version of _Elthunder_ , but costs more dark energy. The next level of thunder magic, Thoron, cannot be upgraded by practice alone; a usable tome of the spell must be found.

Once Ragna was done learning his new spells from Mirel he finally headed to the command tent to speak with Chrom. He was about to head inside when he heard arguments coming from inside.

"What do you mean I'm not going to be a fighting?" That had been been Olivia's voice and she seemed angry, a mood Ragna wasn't used to seeing her have.

"You're going to be the one smuggling us out," Robin told her. "It's going to be one of the most important jobs and we need someone we can trust to take care of us on our way out."

"But I can help you fight," Olivia insisted, confirming what she'd told Ragna about only losing confidence when he was around. Deciding he'd let her make her argument, the Reaper waited outside the tent for a moment. "I owe my life to the Exalt, she helped me in my time of need. I'm owe it to her to save her."

"Then wait to help smuggle us out," Flavia's voice sounded from inside. "I know it's not the most glorious job in the world, but we're going to have someone we can trust get us out of there. We'll get Chrom's sister out Olivia, you don't need to worry about that."

"I… alright," the dancer sighed. Figuring that was the end of the discussion he entered the tent, causing everyone to glance in his direction. The tent now consisted of himself, Chrom, Frederick, Lissa, Robin, Olivia, Basilio, and Flavia.

"So… are we ready?" Question of the day, not the easiest to answer…

"I hope so," Robin said to him as she glanced down at the board. "I've already arranged for our way to retrieve Emmeryn and we're going to have Olivia help smuggle us out of Plegia." The dancer pouted when the tactician said that. "Either way, this battle is going to be difficult, we're going to need to stay on our toes."

"You'll have me at least," Ragna assured them. "Anything I can do I will, just try to keep it together and we'll get through this."

"I wish you could've phrased that differently, but I also wish I had your confidence," Chrom told them honestly. "I don't think I slept a wink last night with all of the anxiety I have."

"...Is this the part where I finally get to rail on you for a change for not getting enough sleep?" Ragna asked with a smirk, receiving a stern glare from Chrom and a giggle from Lissa.

"You two act like a married couple," the princess commented causing the Prince and Reaper to refuse to look at one another.

"At ANY rate," Frederick began, his voice and expression unable to hide his irritation, "It's time that we rallied the troops and proceed through our final briefing."

"Looks like the calm before the storm is finally ending," Chrom said. "I just hope that waiting was the hardest part to this day…"

"Don't worry it will be," Ragna promised as everyone started to head out, after a moment it was him and Chrom in the tent.

 _A True Friend_ (Cue _**Such Bonds Are the True Strength of This Army**_ )

"Seriously though, how are you feeling?" Ragna had to ask Chrom.

"Like I'm about to go insane," Chrom told him as he took a seat and sighed as he rested his forehead on his fist. "We're finally about to get my sister back, but…"

"What?" Ragna had to ask as he crossed his arms.

"I still have doubts, not about Robin's plan she's been amazing, but my sister's life is on the line and I'm worried that we won't be enough. There's just so much that can go wrong."

"Can't really blame you," the Reaper said to him. "But I told you, I'm not letting anything happen to Emmeryn, I already swore to her I'm not going to see someone die."

"And I don't doubt that you meant that, it's just so infuriating; Gangrel's holding my sister's life in his hands and he's probably laughing about it…"

"He's got a sick mind that's for sure," Ragna told him before glancing at something beside Chrom's trunk, a glass bottle filled with liquor. "Chrom. it's a bad time to start knocking a few back."

"Hm?" Chrom began before glancing down to the bottle. "Oh that, it's nothing; I just won a bottle of ale from Vaike after beating him in a sparring match earlier this morning. First he lost one to Lon'qu back in Ylisse and now he's losing one to me… he shouldn't be making bets with his alcohol."

"That didn't stop you from taking it," Ragna said as he made his way of and yanked it out from under Chrom's chair.

"Hey!" the prince shouted as his friend pulled the cork out with his teeth, spitting it off, and taking a long swig from the bottle. "I thought you said it was a bad time to start knocking a few back."

"For you yeah," Ragna told him as he wiped his mouth with his jackets sleeve. "I can take a drink far better than you can." Noticing the blue haired lord glaring at him, the Reaper smirked before tossing the bottle to him. He chuckled as his friend fumbled the bottle in his hands before finally catching it. "Care to prove me wrong?"

"...Just so you know, I'm only doing this because Emmeryn told me that it's terrible for someone to drink alone," Chrom assured him before taking his own sip from the bottle.

"Our exalt told you that?" Ragna had to ask him as Chrom finished his drink. "I wouldn't have thought she'd be a drinker…" He let out a chuckle. "I can't imagine her drunk, but wouldn't that be hilarious?"

"Please don't say drunk, we really shouldn't be doing this," Chrom said as he tossed the bottle to the Reaper who took his turn with the ale. "Also, Emmeryn didn't drink but I'd recently started drinking myself and she wanted me to promise her that I'd never drink without a friend to make sure we didn't go too far."

"And you're stuck trusting me," Ragna said before tossing the bottle once again. "Maybe I should let you take too much and hog all of the glory for myself. _The Red Swordsman and the Drunk Prince_ , great story."

"Come on, Ragna," Chrom said with a roll of his eyes. "We both know that I'd probably have to bribe you to have you take any sense of glory."

"True enough," Ragna told him. "Trust me, I haven't had much experience with people trying to brownnose or kiss my ass, but I've hated it every time. I know who my real friends are."

"Always a good thing to know," Chrom said before finally tossing the ale back to Ragna. "Hey, what are you planning on doing once this is over?"

"Good question," Ragna said as he looked into the drink. "I guess stick around with the Shepherds, I don't have any plans of wasting my time finding a way home, that's for damn sure." Ragna then took a swig of the alcohol. "Plus, you're probably going to need me when there's more trouble."

"No plans on going home?" Chrom questioned as Ragna threw him back the bottle. "I know that you were a criminal back where you're from, but don't you at least have a few friends to go back to?"

"A few maybe…" Ragna admitted. "But they're probably better off without me, I have a tendency to cause trouble wherever I go and a lot people get hurt."

"And you're not doing that here, reason enough," Chrom agreed. He was about to toss the bottle back to Ragna, but he noticed that there was a very small amount of alcohol left in the bottle. "Last sip."

"You want to fight me for it?" the Reaper asked with an obvious and cocky grin.

"...No, I have something better," Chrom said with a smirk as he placed the bottle down on the desk between them. "Whoever takes the last sip HAS to rescue Emmeryn."

"Wha?" Ragna stuttered as he looked at the bottle like it was the switch to a bomb detonator or its disarm and he didn't know which one it was.

Chrom shook his head, he's meant to do that as a joke, but he knew he'd just shaken his friend and himself to some degree. The Prince was about to call it off and apologize to Ragna, but the Reaper grabbed the bottle off of his desk and downed the last of it.

"Damn, I thought the last sips were supposed to be the best, that tasted terrible," he said with a grimace.

"Ragna I was joking," Chrom told him. "I'm not going to put that much weight on you when you've clearly had enough on your mind since you've gotten here."

"It's just a way of promising," Ragna said darkly as he looked at the bottle before sighing. "Back home, there was this girl I knew; Lambda. Didn't really know her at all, but I guess she was okay. I'd gone to finally fight Terumi for real… but I didn't stand a chance. Hell, he was just toying with me; locking my arm's power, unleashing his own. I had to fight tooth and nail just so I wouldn't die in an instant."

"You must've been pushed to your limit," Chrom acknowledge. "What happened?"

"Well he had me on the ground," Ragna told him. "He kept laughing at me, telling me that I didn't stand a chance. I didn't give up, I told I'd keep fighting until the end and as a human… that just pissed him off. He was about to finish me… but then Lambda showed out of nowhere and took the hit for me."

"You don't have to continue," Chrom told him.

"Well I'm going to," Ragna shrugged. "Like I said, I didn't really know her at all, why did she die for me? ...She was fading fast in my arms, seeing what my own damn mistakes had done to her… That's when I told myself, I wasn't going to lose anyone else, not to Terumi, not to the Imperator, no one..."

"That sound's like it was a living hell," Chrom noted. "So that's why you're making the promise?"

"Yeah, 'cause it's one I've got to keep, and I'm going to keep it," Ragna said before he cricked his neck. "This wasn't bad, we should grab some more ale and do this with the rest of the Shepherds.."

"There'll be plenty of time to go out for drinks after we save my sister," Chrom told him as he stood. "Come on buddy, we've got work to do."

"Right behind you," Ragna said as he left the empty bottle on the desk.

 _ **Support Rank A Obtained with Chrom**_

 _ **Plegia Castle-Throne Room**_

Gangrel lazily lounged upon his throne letting out a soft yawn and smacked his lips waiting for the word to arrive. Prince Chrom would soon be arriving and he'd be bringing the object he'd been attempting to acquire ever since this event began, the _Fire Emblem_ … or a dead Ylissean exalt… or both. Oh well, no matter what happened, he was sure to get SOMETHING that he wanted.

"Sire!" a soldier said as he made his way into the throne room. "It's time."

"Ah, wonderful," Gangrel said with as cocky smile. "Now comes the moment of truth… I take it that the Ylissean prince and his merry band of Shepherds are on their way?"

"Yes sire, they are," the trooper told him as Gangrel started his walked out of the throne room. "Are you taking this situation a little too… comfortably? The Shepherds haven't experienced a single loss since we've begun attacking them and I heard rumors that they haven't even suffered a single casualty."

"You let me worry about the Shepherds and those little rumors they've been spouting amongst the people, you worry about… what are you, a castle guard?"

"I'm under General Mustafa's command Sire," the soldier said before saluting to the Mad King. "Recruited soldier Gallic sir."

"Never asked for a name that I don't even remember now," Gangrel muttered under his breath. "Oh, then make sure you guard the area and make sure none of them try and make a quick getaway from the main event. That's what I'm paying you for!"

"Yessir," Gallic told him with uncertainty. "I'll return to my General then…"

"What were you doing away from Mustafa anyways?" the Mad King asked. As the soldier was about to answer Gangrel quickly waved him off. "Never mind, don't care, go back to him and try not to bore your forces to death, Garlic."

Rudely hurrying his way up ahead he made his way outside and covered his eyes for a moment at the hot desert sun. He then headed to the cliff overlooking his subjects. Looking up, he saw Emmeryn who was standing one of the plank-like ribs. Looking up at her and giving a cocky sneer he turned to the subjects beneath him.

"PEOPLE OF PLEGIA!" he called. "I come to you not only as your king, but as an entertainer as well! I bring you the show you've not so secretly wanted! You all remember the Ylissians no doubt! The ones who made you suffer so in the days of the war!" Gangrel paused as he tried to act sorrowful. "Some of us lost our homes, many of us lost our loved ones, other lost bits of their very flesh… WELL TODAY YLISSE'S EXALT IS GOING TO FEEL ALL HER FLESH GO SPLAT!"

Emmeryn had already endured the hatred of her own people for a time, the things they'd said about her, the spite they'd shown, the threats they'd made, that hadn't compared to what she was hearing and seeing now.

"KILL HER!"

"SHE'S A MURDERER!"

"AVENGE MY SON!"

"THE EXALT FAMILY IS EVIL FILTH! HELL IS TOO GOOD FOR THEM!"

"THEY WANTED THIS WAR! HAVE HER HEAD ROLL FIRST!"

"The people have spoken… Well I was going to kill her regardless, but at least now I have someone to share this moment with," Gangrel said with an obvious smirk. "MOVE HER INTO POSITION!"

"Time to die," the barbarian behind the Exalt said as he poked at her with his axe moving her even closer to the edge.

' _This is it for me…'_ Emmeryn thought as she slowly moved to the edge. ' _My resolve and ideals… I couldn't uphold them… This war will tear us all asunder… And I am to blame… Chrom… Lissa… You must find your own path. But even when I'm gone, I'll always love you with all my heart…"_

"GAH!" The sudden scream of her executioner brought her out of those final bleak thoughts. Emmeryn turned behind her and saw her executioner gapping at the axe sprouting out of his chest before collapsing and falling from the plank. Emmeryn stared at the man's corpse in awe before seeing a large man with dark skin and an eyepatch who'd appear to have thrown the axe from quite the distance. Standing beside him...

(Cue _Divine Decree (Ablaze)_ )

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Ragna called out with a salute, an obvious smirk on his face. "Care to do the honors Chrom?"

"Gladly! SHEPHERDS! RESCUE THE EXALT!" Every member of the Shepherds let out a battle cry as they rushed through the sand.

"The Ylissean Dogs are attacking!" Campari, one of Plegia's Generals called out causing many of the townsfolk to scatter. "All units form up! Let the sand slow their advancement and run them into the ground!"

"I suppose this is where I take my leave," Gangrel shrugged casually. "I'll leave them in your very capable hands." The Mad King stretched as he left for his castle with a yawn. "And if you're going to make them scream, do it rhythmically; I always love a good lullaby before a cat nap."

"Are our reinforcements arriving soon?" Campari demanded from one of his messengers.

"Sir! The Wyvern Rider brigade is flying towards us to complete a pincer attack as we speak! They may take some time to arrive however!"

"We'll manage… tell General Maverick that he can come out of hiding now, I want every man we can get!"

"But sir, no one has heard from the General or his elite garrison since yesterday!"

"What!?" Campari thought before he remembered where Maverick had said he was going. "That fool, did he actually pick a fight with those fanatics and lose…? What of our dark mage corps!?"

"We… we're expecting no support from the Grimleal, all of the members have been called from the battlefield by the Hierophant. He's also taken nearly all of our mages dark or otherwise unaffiliated with the order, leaving us with a mere handful of spell casters."

"DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" Campari shouted with rage and causing the messenger to take a step back. "IS HE TRYING TO DOOM US!? WAS THIS ALL A PLOY SO THE SHEPHERDS COULD GET THEIR PRECIOUS EXALT BACK!? ...That man is dead when this is over, YOU HEAR ME!? **DEAD!** "

On the other side of the battlefield, Chrom and the others were fighting with renewed strength seeing this as their moment where they could finally take back their ruler and strike a crippling blow to the Mad King.

Chrom moved through the sands ahead of most of his fellow Shepherds, though the sands still impeded his progress. Most of that didn't matter as he wielded Falchion in right hand and a steel lance in his left. Whenever he hadn't been going over battle plans, talking with the other Shepherd's, or resting very briefly, he'd been spending every fiber of his being towards developing his new style.

He impaled an enemy archer with his spear before pulling the weapon out of the corpse and using it to block the killing edge from an enemy Myrmidon and cutting him down with Falchion. Leaping to the side, he dodged a powerful hammer swing from and enemy barbarian before twisting his body and cutting down yet another opponent. In the background he heard Robin shouting out commands to the troops as the Shepherds rush alongside him, slaying any Plegian soldiers that offered resistance.. Chrom continued fighting valiantly until he noticed someone off in the distance, fending themselves against Plegian soldiers with an axe.

' _An ally this far out?'_ Chrom thought to himself as more opponents surrounded the mysterious white robed individual. ' _They won't last long.'_ "Ragna! I need you to help me clear a path through to whoever's over there!"

"On it," Ragna said plainly as he charged a powerful torrent of wind magic into his sword and unleashed a massive _Wind Edge_ that sent several soldiers flying. "Now go bring 'em back, I'll settle for dealing with these losers for now."

Nodding, Chrom headed through the opening that Ragna had created while the Reaper stayed back and assisted the Shepherds with the forces that were currently attacking them. Proceeding through the sand, the Price approached the long haired blonde figure who just managed to cut down another soldier with their axe.

"You, you're the Exalt's brother, Prince Chrom," the figure said. "Oh, thank the gods I've found you alive and well! Oh holy Naga, right in spirit and virtue, to you I-!"

"Can this please wait?" Chrom demanded as he cut down an enemy mercenary. "Who are you and why are you here alone in the first place?"

"Truthfully I did not come here on my own," the mystery person told him with a grimace as they took down another soldier. "I lost many members of our church on my journey here, but if I can help in any way to saving Lady Emmeryn, I can at least make sure their sacrifices were not in vain. As for my name, I am known as Libra."

"Then we welcome your help," Chrom said. "I'm always honored to stand with a woman of the clergy."

"Er…" Libra grimaced as the enemy began surrounding the two.

"Kill the little prince!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Then maybe we can have some fun with the woman!"

The other soldiers cheers seemed to set Chrom off as he protective got in front of Libra in a heroic pose ready to defend his-

" _ **DEAD SPIKE!**_ " Ragna shouted as he sent out massive blasts of darkness and obliterated the soldiers, absorbing their spiritual energy. "I can't stand rape threats, but that was just awkward!" As Ragna guarded against an enemy's axe (without turning) he pointed at Libra. "Man by the way."

"Y-you're joking," the prince defied as he turned to Libra who was merely scratching the back of his head while Ragna killed his attacker with a well placed punch. "I-I-I'm so sorry…"

"No matter, it's far from the first time this has happened," Libra assured him. "Rescuing the Exalt takes priority regardless."

"Agreed," Chrom said before hearing a screech coming from behind the enemy lines. "That sounded like a Wyvern! Damn, it looks like an entire Brigade! If they go for Emmeryn-"

"I'm on it!" Ragna shouted as he started running back through the sand. "You stick with him and advance with others! I'll go with Robin and take care of them." Ragna shouted, hacking through a Plegian knight as he ran.

"Does he usually run off like that?" Libra decided to question.

"You have no idea," Chrom said shaking his head. "Let's keep moving pushing forward until we take the armies General."

"As you say," Libra told him as he readied his axe.

A spearman rushed towards the man of the cloth, but Libra deflected the attack with ease before cutting them across the chest with his axe. One of the few enemy mages then cast an _Elwind_ spell, but Libra's natural magic defenses were more than enough to cancel out the attack. An enemy knight tried to impale Libra, but the Monk leapt into the air before bringing the axe down in a devastating attack that cut through the knight's helmet like it was nothing.

Chrom then moved forward towards the General's current position and cut through a myrmidon blocking his path. The swordsman did not last long as Chrom's ran him through as the young prince lunged forward and Chrom's Falchion cut though an enemy warrior as he did so. Chrom impaled his sword through another axe user's arm before twisting his body beheading the attacker.

Chrom had just finished slaying the axe user when the last soldier in the immediate area stabbed him across the chest with his spear, though his armor did take most of the impact. Grimacing at the pain Chrom quickly dispatched the opponent before looking at his wound.

"Damn it, I was careless," Chrom groaned as he looked at the slow trickle of blood that was emerging from the wound. The Prince noticed a faint light surrounding him as the wound closed and saw that Libra was using a mend staff. "Thank you."

"Oh no, it's simply my duty…" Libra said before glaring the shadow direction as the two heard movement. "Show yourself!" Out from the shadows stepped a Plegian Dark Mage with raven black hair. "A mage… though you don't appear to be affiliated with the Grimleal."

"I don't really care for the worship," she said nonchalantly. Chrom noticed that she was carrying an _Elthunder_ tome and she had a dark _Nosferatu_ tome as well, but it didn't appear that she was in any hurry to use them. "Aren't you going to kill me? I AM with the enemy you know?"

"I'm not exactly sure you're in any hurry to kill us," Chrom said to her. "And I don't kill those who don't wish for violence."

"Did any part of you even consider that this would be a ruse?" she question. "What if I'm just keeping you here so my allies could surround you?"

"I think I can count on my friends if that were to happen," the Prince assured her. "If you're not going to fight for Gangrel then why not fight for us? We could use someone like you."

"You're offering me a chance to join the opposing side?" the dark mage said. "That's a very strange thing to offer, and I doubt I should just-" She suddenly stopped talking as she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and seemed to grow cold. "Wha… who…?"

"Hm?" Chrom questioned before turning to the direction of the nameless woman's gaze and seeing what she was staring at, his face turning stoic when he saw it. "Oh… them."

Ragna and Robin were on the north end of the battle where the Wyvern Brigade had arrived and the two were completely destroying the attacking forces. Robin cast an _Elthunder_ spell that destroyed one rider while Ragna cut down another that was going for Robin while she cast her spell. The Reaper then used his _Wind Edge_ ability to cut down several Wyverns from afar before Robin jumped onto the weapon he propelled her into the air, putting into a much closer range for the barrage of wind spells she unleashed on the air units and used the winds for a safe decent while Ragna unleashed another wave of darkness.

"That would be our tactician and our mysterious friend," Chrom told the dark mage. "I guess now Robin's trying to show off now thanks to Rag…na…" Chrom had finished the sentence with uncertainty because he'd turned to see that his potential ally was staring at the two with a strange smile on her face and appeared to be drooling out of one side of her lips. "A-are you okay!?"

"I'll join you!" she shouted with an eager smile on her face as she wiped the drool away. "Call me Tharja by the way. I'll be sure to protect your friends _perfectly_ … _heh heh heh_ …" And with that, Tharja simply turned and blasted an archer who was about to attack the Shepherds before running off to join the other group, blasting Pelagians warriors with lightning along the way.

"Did that really just happen?" Chrom had to ask. Libra simply shook his head. ' _And I thought only Ragna found the strange ones._ '

(End theme)

On the other side of the battlefield General Campari was growing more and more worried, he stood guarding the courtyard's entrance with his selection of elite light armored soldiers and mages, but the Shepherds were breaking through at a staggering rate.

"This is impossible," the General said with a grimace as he saw his forces becoming completely overwhelmed. "Their strategy is nearly flawless and their units are so powerful, especially that Prince and that man in the red coat." He turned to his elites. "We can't let them win, go end the life of Ylisse's exalt, I'll watch the fools faces here and see them fill with despair."

"Sir!" the troops shouted as they turned to leave, but before they could make much headway, all three of them received an arrow in the back of their heads, killing them where they stood.

"That's a pretty cowardly move, even for my standards," the General head a voice say from behind him. Turning he saw an orange haired man, with a black bandana in black leathers, enjoying a lollipop of some kind as he held as bow. "Can't say I approve of you killing my employer's sister, Campari."

"That's _General_ Campari to you thief, and don't think for a moment that you're innocent here. Didn't you go off with Validar's group in order to kill off the Exalt after I caught you trying to rob our own vaults?"

"It was either go with them or die on the chopping block," Gaius told him, seeming passive despite the weight of the situation. "Plus, no one said anything about murdering her, I thought you just wanted the _Emblem_."

"So you turned to the other side because of your so called morals? I've never seen a more pathetic thief. How long do you think the Shepherds their prince will let you live?"

"Much longer than you would," Gaius said before putting his bow away and drawing his iron sword. "Speaking of which, I should probably get to business."

(Cue _**Final Fantasy XIII**_ _Saber's Edge_ )

"You're going to face me here? Alone? You're a bigger fool than I thought," the General said as he readied his short spear. "By the way, what are they paying you? Gold? Your pathetic candy? Tell me what they're paying you and I'll triple it! And all you need to do is get close to that prince and steal-!"

"Pass," Gaius said causing the General to scowl. "Like you said I've got morals, even as a thief, and for one thing I don't abandon my friends for anyone or anything, least of all former employers."

"Friends!?" Campari laughed. "You call these people your friends!? You're a common thief and you're dealing with nobility! Did they actually pay you after you shined their boots!? Was that enough to buy your loyalty!?"

"And this would be the part where I stop listening," Gaius said with a nonchalant sigh as he flipped his sword into a backhanded grip and rushed forward in a crouched approach to make himself a smaller target.

The General immediately threw a spear in his direction, but Gaius was prepared as he deftly rolled out of the way, landing on his feet and moving forward once his roll ending while Campari brought out another shortspear. He hastily stabbed it forward when Gaius was in range, but the thief deflected the attack off of his sword before rushing forward and cut across Campari's side, but he was unable to cut through the armor.

"Crap!" Gaius swore through gritted teeth as Campari turned and tried to smash him with his large shield. The thief nimbled backflipped and avoided the attack. ' _This guy's an idiot, but he's no slouch when it comes to fighting and I'm not going to have a chance getting through that armor like this. Still, I have to keep him busy until the others are done on their end.'_

What's wrong? Having second thoughts!?" the General shouted as he threw a second spear which Gaius again managed to avoid. "You should have taken my offer you pathetic whelp!"

' _On second thought maybe I'll take him myself, at least he'll shut up that way,'_ Gaius thought as he again made his way forward to attack while Campari drew yet another shortspear. This time the General tried to bash Gaius was his shield, but the thief's reflexes proved to be faster as he quickly avoid the attack before leaping into the air and stabbing his sword into armor's opening but the General was expecting it as he rose his shield to block, but not before Gaius managed to draw blood from across his forehead.

"Agh!" Campari grunted as Gaius's sword left a long bloody scar. The thief had barely landed before he was slammed in the side with Campari heavy metal shield. Gaius went flying and groaned as he landed on the sand while still managing to keep ahold of his iron sword. The thief gritted his teeth as he gripped his side, sure that he'd had a few ribs broken. He didn't have any time to recover as Campari stabbed down at him with his shortspear. He barely managed to roll out of the way as the General brought his spear down where he'd been lying just a moment before.

Getting to his feet, Gaius was able block the second stab at him using his sword, but the force of the blow was enough to cause that blade of his to snap in half. The thief looked at his broken weapon before slowly stepping back still gripping his side.

"Hah! You're still going to continue?!" Campari taunted. "Can't run away to your little Shepherd friends now! The moment you turn I'll put my Spear through your back! An ironic end for a thief!"

' _He's right, this is one time when I can't run away,'_ Gaius thought to himself as he panted heavily while holding his broken sword. ' _Can't draw my bow before he attacks me either, I'm in a real sticky situation here…'_ He gave a quick glance to his traveling pack.

"Why did you come here at all?" the General demanded. "Surely you could've left one of your stronger friends to fight in my place? Were you just looking for heroics and so-called glory?"

"No clue," Gaius said passively as he finally spat out his lollipop stick.

"What!?" the General spat.

"I dunno, ever since I joined the Shepherd's I've noticed myself gettin' different. They're an odd bunch, no doubt about that, but at least they treat each other like family; no ranks, no superious, everyone lives. And if they let me in maybe I can afford to put in a little effort to this war."

"Tch… you mean to tell me that you're having a change of heart because of some family of bastards and whores!?" Campari shouted. "If they really are your family I'll have to see how they enjoy seeing your head on my lance!"

As the General rushed forward Gaius, the thief took his hand away from his aching side, reached inside his snack pouch, and threw a sticky golden glob from the pouch which hit the General right in the face. Campari grunted as he stopped running and tried to get the glob out of his face.

"What the his is this!?" he demanded with venom.

"Just a melted square of honey, and I think that's the second stickiest one I've ever come across," Gaius said with a smirk as he ran forward. "Enjoy it!" he yelled.

With every bit of the strength he had left, Gaius leapt into the air. With a roar he brought his broken sword down as Camparia raised his spear for a final blind stab at the thief, right before Gaius's broken sword was impaled through his head. The General gave a raspy groan through the honey covering his face before falling to the ground.

(End Theme)

"Sw...eet…" Gaius managed to say as he collapsed on his back. The thief gave a weak cough as he looked at his side where he'd been gravely injured by a deep cut from that final stab. ' _Guess this is it for me…'_ he thought as he lay in the sand. ' _Not bad though… dying saving the exalt? It beats going stale in some crusty dungeon by a long shot… Wonder if anyone in the Shepherd is going to miss a thief like me…?'_

Allowing himself a last chuckle, Gaius let his eyes slowly begin to close. ' _What am I saying…? 'Course they... will.'_

He felt his body begin to slowly grow warm as the pain faded, he began to thought that this was merely a way of going to whatever afterlife he'd earned, but upon opening his eyes he saw Chrom, Ragna, and Lissa all standing in front of him.

"Don't scare us like that," Chrom told him as he held out his hand which the thief slowly took as he painfully stood. "You alright?"

"Fine…" Gaius said with a pained smile. "I'd be better with some sugar though…"

"Once we get out of here we'll get you some, you've earned it," Ragna told him with a nod.

Gaius smirked. "Thanks Red…"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN! That was a great nap! All those screams really made it worthwhile!" Gangrel said as he made his way out to his podium. "I-! ...Where's my army? WHERE THE HELL IS MY ARMY!?"

"It's over Gangrel!" Chrom shouted to the Mad King. "Phila, now!"

Phila and the rest of the surviving Pegasus knights began flying in through the castle courtyard and started their approach to rescue Emmeryn, who remained unmoving from where she stood on the plank.

"DAMN IT! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" Gangrel shouted. "SOLDIERS! MERCENARIES! ...Anyone?"

' _He's grasping at straws_ ,' Ragna thought. ' _We're almost…'_ His arm gave a sudden powerful burst of pain. "Guh!" _'What hell!? Again!?_ '

"Ragna look!" Chrom shouted as dark purple magic symbols appeared and glowed with absolute power, in the next instant the courtyard was filled with hundreds of Risen. "Gods no!"

Several of the Risen snarled as they quickly readied their bows. Ragna roared as he quickly cast an _Arcfire_ spell to burn them down and stop them. Even as he cast the spell as the archers finished pulling, he knew he was just an instant too late. He managed to burn away several Risen just as they unleashed their volley of arrows.

(Cue _ID (Sorrow) Extended_ )

"YOUR GRACE!" Phila shouted as she and her pegasus rider sister were impaled by the fatal arrows. Time seemed to stand still for a moment as they were struck repeatedly before falling to the rubble filled ground.

"PHILA!" Emmeryn cried with anguish. Several of the crowd that had stayed to watch the battle and the Exalts execution were silent before they continued to jeer, shouting for Emmeryn to die.

"An army of corpses… well I guess beggars can't be choosers THOUGH I'M NOT THE BEGGAR NOW!" Gangrel shouted before unleashing a round of sadistic laughter.

After firing the Risen redirected their arrows towards the two Pegasus riders they saw still breathing; Cordelia and Sumia.

"Shit!" Ragna swore as the time he unleashed a torrent of _Arcwind_ to interrupt the attack and disrupt the volley of arrows. The attack worked and Sumia and Cordelia managed to avoid the few arrows that made it through. Despite his _BlazBlue's_ painful throb, Ragna readied himself to rush forward, trying to bear his way through the agony that was almost enough to make him lose consciousness.

"NOT SO FAST!" Gangrel shouted as even more Risen appeared through the sigils and he pointed towards Emmeryn. "I'M SURE THEY'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO LISTEN TO ME! TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND YOUR EXALT BECOMES A PIN CUSHION!"

Ragna was still about to make a break for it, but at Chrom's pleading look he decided to wait.

"Now you've got two choices!" the Mad King shouted. "Either I get the _Fire Emblem_ right here and now and everyone walks home happy, or you let your sister die and I'm the only one who's happy!"

"Chrom you must not listen to him!" Emmeryn shouted. "You need to keep the Emblem safe! My life is of no consequence!"

"But Emm-!" Chrom shouted, hoping to find some way to convince his dear sister.

"Oh cry me a river!" Gangrel shouted. "She talks of self sacrifice while she can! When it comes time for her to act she'll simply let someone else take the fall for her!"

"...Is that what you think?" Emmeryn questioned, her voice thick with determination. Chrom could only stare as she addressed the crowd. "PEOPLE OF PLEGIA! I CALL FOR PEACE BETWEEN OUR KINGDOMS! WAR ONLY CAUSES BLOODSHED AND SUFFERING WHILE BEGETTING FURTHER WARS! ANY DEATH CAUSED WHETHER TO NEIGHBORS, KIN, OR ENEMIES IS AN AFFRONT TO US ALL! I WILL NOT STAND IDLY BY AND SEE US ALL BURN IN THE FIRES OF CONFLICT!" The crowd went silent. "If the life of a single man or woman can pay the price for peace… then so be it."

"Emmeryn!" Chrom shouted. He only made it a step forward when he felt a giant gust of wind hit him by and saw the red coat of the man who passed by in his charge into the courtyard.

" _YOU BASTARD_ _!_ " Ragna shouted he unleashed a huge head of the Black Beast from the ground, destroying a large portion of the Risen forces and causing the rest of the to stumble, making them unable to aim at the Exalt. " _I WON'T-_!" Ragna shouted as he cleaved through several more Risen. "- _LOSE ANYONE ELSE_ _!_ " The Reaper sent out a massive wave of shadows destroyed the countless Risen that were brought in through the sigils to replace the ones he'd destroyed. " _NEVER AGAIN_ _!_ " His arm throbbed further, slowing his movements, putting him in a new degree of pain… he barely noticed as he called down lightning from the heavens. Only one thing mattered; _saving his friend_.

The Reaper roared as he raised his sword and it became a Scythe before carving it through the Risen armies, but no matter how many he slayed more instantly teleported in enough to overwhelm a small army. Ragna just kept slashing, he was becoming lost in himself, lost in his pain, lost in his fight, that was all that mattered. Emmeryn had ceased her movement staring at awe as Ragna continued his enraged fight for her sake.

"SHEPHERDS ATTACK!" Chrom roared as his friends rushed forward. Chrom was the fastest and made his way to the to the edge of the Risen soldier he roared as he brought Falchion down upon the nearest soldier, only to hear the sickening sound of a dull clang. His blade had been stopped by a barrier that would even block out the air units, a wall of a thin flamelike energy that encompassed Ragna, all of the Risen, Gangrel, and his Sister.

"NO!" he shouted. "They're trying to keep us out they're trying to-!" His blood went cold as he realized that wasn't what they were attempting, they'd already gotten what they wanted. "RAGNA! GET OUT OF THERE!"

But the Reaper didn't hear him, he couldn't hear him, possessed by his own berserk rage he continued slashing again and again at any Risen that appeared, turning into a complete Berserker cutting Risen down by the hundreds. He roared he brought his Scythe around for another slash... but then it happened. A pure black sigil appeared underneath him that was 50 meters across. Ragna saw it as it shone for a brief instance, even his face unable to react in that short of a time.

" _ **GUILTY.**_ **"**

From the sigil arose a massive column of black flames, completely unaffecting the Risen as a whole, but Ragna felt the full blast. All he could do was scream as the flames tore at his body while somehow leaving his attire unaffected. He screamed as his flesh began to peel off, as the Risen swarmed him, stabbing, slashing, and bludgeoning him as his _BlazBlue_ emitted a chaotic darkness that damaged him even further.

" **RAGNAAAA!"** Chrom shouted as he tried to break through the barrier. Weapons struck it, spells blasted it, but nothing they did seemed to cause it to waver. **"RAGNAAAA!"**

" **GET OUT OF HERE YOU IDIOT!"** came Ragna's final cry as the flames increased even further in ferocity. Chrom couldn't even see his friend though the legion of undead that was swarming him. Then all at once the flames stopped and the Risen ceased moving.

"OH! THIS! IS! RICH!" the Mad King roared. "HEY YOU STILL MOVING CORPSES! MAKE SURE THEY GET A GOOD VIEW OF HIM!"

At Gangrel's sicken laughter the corpses parted ways, giving Chrom the perfect view of Ragna's body on the other side of the barrier. His skin was torn completely in the parts where it hadn't been rotted away by the spell, his eyes were wide open and bloodshot in an expression of pain and fear, his hair looked like it been torn, his clothes were ragged tatters, and the blood… there was so much blood.

Chrom couldn't move, he couldn't breath, he couldn't speak, he could only stare at the corpse in the center of the Risen. The corpse of a man who'd been his friend.

"This wasn't- this wasn't supposed to happen!" Robin screamed.

"R-Ragna…" Cordelia stuttered as she looking in from the sky, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. ' _I'm glad that you're a part of the team,'_ he'd said to her.

Lissa was already bawling at the man she'd made a pie with, ate it with, and laughed with. She remembered seeing the him lose control and go into an uncontrollable fit of laughter over something she'd suggested. Marrible desperately wanted to comfort her best friend, but unsure how to.

' _No one decides whether you can love someone or not, you're the one who decides that, and sometimes love just happens. It's not something you can give or take, but when it happens you're sure to know.'_ He'd said that to the loveless bride Elphelt Valentine who was looking at him in as she was using her hands to cover his face to keep from screaming.

' _Am I grieving over a human?'_ Panne thought as she struggled to keep a straight face. ' _No… I'm grieving over a friend I loved.'_

' _You said I was lucky that I could fight because I didn't want to let my friends down,'_ Stahl only thought because he was unable to speak. ' _Then why I do I feel like I'm the one dying!?'_

"B-Buddy," Vaike began crying out. "C-come on it was a good joke, you had me alright? You had me! Y-You can't be stopped! Y-you can't be... Just get up already!"

' _And I was afraid of losing something, now they've taken the last person that might've cared for me,'_ Aversa thought with devastation.

Gaius, Gregor, Sumia, Donnel, Anna, and Virion merely stared at the corpse while Kellam seemed deeply sorrowed at losing a true friend that could actually see him. Ricken, Sumia and Nowi were weeping over the horrific display and even the passive Miriel and Frederick seemed shaken to their cores.

"Damn it you idiot!" Sully shouted, crying for the first time since anyone could remember. "Don't let this be it! Keep going!"

' _I've lost another friend,'_ Lon'qu the Feroxi swordsman thought to himself. ' _DAMNATION! WILL I NEVER BE STRONG ENOUGH!? WHEN WILL IT STOP!?'_

While the Shepherds mourned the loss of a friend Gangrel continued to laugh sickly.

"OH HOW THE MIGHTY HATH BEEN SHREDDED!" he howled before turning to Emmeryn. "IT'S YOUR CALL NOW EXALT! WILL I SEE YOUR DEAD BODY OR WILL I HAVE AN EMBLEM TODAY WITH A SIDE OF MEANINGLESS CLAIMS!?"

"No... " Chrom said, knowing full well what his sister was about to do. "Emm don't do it! Gangrel I have the _Fire Emblem_ right here! Take it! Take it and stop my sister!"

Emmeryn looked down at Ragna's body where it lay, having her own unobstructed view she then looked to Chrom and smiled warmly with her tear filled eyes.

"I'm so sorry… but I can't let this war continue… Don't cry, I'll always be with you… Never forget that..."

Her leap wasn't a long one, but it seemed to last a hellish eternity. Chrom could only scream as much as his lungs allowed him, right to when everyone saw the Exalt's body hit the ground and heard that sickening sound.

 _ **THUD**_

"Winter is so beautiful," Gangrel began with a smile. "Spring's the most fruitful, Summer is the hottest of them all… BUT YOU JUST CAN'T BEAT THE FALL!" The Mad King let out a bray of wicked laughter that sent Chrom over the edge.

"GANGREL! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!" Chrom roared as he rushed forward and tried to break down the barrier which seemed to be starting to fade.

"Hell no boy!" Basilio shouted as he grabbed Chrom's arm. "That wall's disappearing! And soon Gangrel's other armies will be here!"

"LET THEM COME! I'LL KILL THEM ALL!" Chrom shouted as he tried to escaped Basilio's grip.

"Think about what your sister would've wanted!" Flavia shouted as she too tried to get sense into the prince. "Are you really going to throw away everything she stood for right here and now!? Gangrel's time will come, but we have to move!"

"NAGA DAMN IT!" Chrom swore as flung his arms to the side. "Shepherds! Run for it! Run now!"

In such a short span he'd lost his sister, his friend, and he'd had to run with a maniac laughing as he did. Chrom was filled with despair as he left those sands of loss while the barrier slowly faded and Risen began pouring out all while a blue haired masked woman from a dark future left walked away from the sight of so much loss.

(End Theme)

 _ **Meanwhile- The Grimleal Meditation Chambers**_

Minos's eyes slowly opened as he looked at the entirety of the cult gathered before him.

" _ **The deed is done. Thank you for your cooperation; Grimleal and Dark Mages alike."**_ In the short span of a few minutes all members piled out of the chambers and the massive crowd began exiting the temple leaving him alone with Minos.

"The Reaper is dead?" he questioned.

" _ **Beyond a doubt,**_ " Minos said. " _ **Today was a great victory for our holy cause, even if we did not obtain the Emblem.**_ "

"But the Prince and Princess still live," Pharos reminded. "And there's also the matter-"

" _ **Let them come, the Reaper was the most of my worries. No true threats remain to us… not the Prince, not the Princess, and especially not that pathetic interloper... Grima has shown us the truth way to true absolution and we shall forever bask in his glory…'**_

"As you say…" Pharos admitted. "What are we to do now?"

" _ **Now we move forward and begin the next stage of plans,**_ **"** Minos said. Though you could not see the Hierophant's eyes past the hood, he did seem to notice his second in command and his doubts. **"** _ **What is the matter? Do you have doubts?**_ **"**

"Only one, the Exalt's final act and hush it drew over the crowd… You saw it as well as I did through what ever magics you'd placed, you know what this could mean..."

" _ **Indeed I do, her rash actions could play a key role for what we all hope to acquire, and provide us with the necessary tools we need; resentment across the people for their current king's cruelty, a gripping fear of the dark unknown, and a passive cover against Ylisse to name a select few.**_ **"**

"A passive cover?" Pharos question the final statement, his arms crossed as he stroked his black beard. "We're not going to crush them while they are so weakened?"

" _ **You saw what the Exalt called for; peace between our kingdoms. If she sacrificed her life to ensure it we'll face great resistance on our own side if we moved to strike them, anyone would see us as warmongers. Besides, you know as well as I do that there is another war to be had on the horizon, one that we need not take part in.**_ **"**

"True…" Pharos conceded. "But it feels like you're doing this less of a way to support the Grimleal and more of a way to honor Lady Emmeryn's last wish."

" _ **Very astute of you; I am doing this to honor her wish… for as long as I can exploit it for my own gains,**_ **"** Minos told him as they walked out of the chambers. _**"**_ **How are you feeling?** _ **"**_

"Exhausted, there's no other word for it," Pharos admitted as he let out a deep breath. "I doubt I'd be able to cast even the most basic cantrip as I am now and I feel that I'm only second to you in spell casting… That's quite a technique you have, even if it cost all of the Grimleal and the near entirety of the Dark Mages to cast."

" _ **Honestly that spell would not have required them; I knew where and how the Exalt was to be executed, I had us ready to summon the Risen to use as bait, I even drew the sigils last night for the attack and for observing the enemy's movement. I only brought used the rest of the cult and the mages for additional power.**_ **"**

"But you brought in so many," Pharos said with shook. "There were countless spell casters here today and you're telling me we were borrowing power from all of them?"

" _ **...I wished to sure it would be enough,**_ **"** Minos said passively before seeming to remember something. **"** _ **That woman that offered us her services the other day, Ravia was her name?**_ **"**

"Yes I believe so," Pharos nodded. "Shall I fetch her for you?"

" _ **Please do so, there is still much work to be done…**_ **"**

 _ **The Midmire**_

"Keep moving! We've just about made it to the rendezvous!" Basilio barked to the Shepherds as the group ran along the muddy grounds. Saying that everyone's spirits were damaged would be a large understatement, yet the Shepherds continued to run in their retreat from Plegia.

"Milord, would you prefer to ride on my horse? It would do well to assure your safety," Frederick said to Chrom, though the young prince did not respond. "Milord?"

Chrom couldn't say anything. His head was slumped over as he ran and his cerulean hair seemed to fall to one side because of the constant downpour the rain.

"Chrom, we need you focus," Robin said him as she tried to shake him back to his senses.

"We have a problem over here!" Basilio called out as he brought out his battle axe. Several Plegian fighters had their weapons drawn and more were appearing behind them, but at the moment none of them were advancing. "What are they waiting for?"

"They're hoping you will lay down your arms without a fight, as do I," a voice sounded from behind the soldiers. The man the voice belonged to was as large as Basilio and was wearing shoulder pads the appeared to be made of a strange form of bones. He was heavily muscled, had a scar over his right eye (or left… honestly it's had to tell when the portrait changes sides), and despite being bald he had a strong black beard.

"You expect us to surrender after what we've just witnessed today?" Frederick demanded with ire. "I won't hand my life over to the Pelagians while you've slaughter our friends and companions."

"True, yet Emmeryn would not want further bloodshed," the mysterious leader tried to convince.

"Don't you dare… Don't you dare say her name!" Chrom shouted, his rage boiling over his earlier expression of gloom. The leader of Plegian warriors noticed the rest of the Shepherds bracing their weapons preparing themselves to fight through his men to escape.

"Your rage is understandable," the General tried once more. "But I swear on my life's honor that I'll fight with every fiber of my being that you are all treated fairly."

"Against Gangrel's madness you have no defense!" Frederick shouted. "If we're to die today it'll be with weapons drawn as we fight for our lives!"

The Plegian General was silent for a moment as he studied the two forces, his own and the enemies. He could see the doubt in his men, more than one soldier had come to him for unsurety of hunting men and women who had risked their lives to save their Exalt, only to have her die in front of them. He then saw the Shepherds, who looked like they wouldn't hesitate in slaughtering his men if it came to that.

( _Cue Don't Speak Her Name Extended_ )

"Hmph, if that's how you wish it… tell us all your name Prince."

"I am Chrom of the Ylissean Halidom."

"Then by my right I, General Mustafa, challenge to single just combat," Mustafa said, surprising several of his men. "You need only slay me, and my men shall part for you to proceed. Fail in this, and your men must surrender to my forces."

"How are we sure we can trust your word?" Robin demanded. "For all we know you could be just stalling for time so you can-!"

"I accept," came Chrom's voice, though it didn't seem like it was the prince who spoke; his voice was uneven, chaotic, enraged. He stepped forward to meet with the army's General.

"Chrom don't do this!" Robin tried to convince him as she stood in front of him and tried to stop him. "You don't have to fight this out on your own! We're still your-!"

"Move," the prince said as he roughly pushed his tactician out of the way. Robin grunt as she hit the ground before looking at Chrom in fear. Getting up, she returned to the rest of the Shepherds, knowing there was no stopping him now.

As Mustafa readied himself one of his newer recruits, Gallic (the guy from the palace) tried to stop him. "General you can't do this! There has to be another way! We can't just stand idly by and watch you die!"

"I truly wish there was another way," Mustafa told him with a sigh. "Had I the option I'd let these people go, but the king would kill my wife and son as an example. The Shepherd's are out for blood. This is meant to be my fight."

"A-are you certain that you can win?" Gallic asked.

"...I don't know, I've yet to face the royal sword style on the battlefield," Mustafa admitted before turning to his soldier. "If the prince wins and the Shepherds escape make sure to look out for my wife and son, they'll resent me for this I'm sure, but they'll understand."

"General!" Gallic shouted as Mustafa left his men to face the young prince.

"He'll be fine," a Jorel, a wyvern rider who had landed, assured him. "The General's the best fighter I've ever seen, he won't lose."

"But then what happens? What happens to them?" Gallic asked sorrowfully. Jorel did not have an answer to that.

"I am General Mustafa of Plegia," Mustafa called to Chrom as he brought out his short axe. "If you wish to keep your life then you must fight for it!"

"I plan to," Chrom said darkly as he was armed with his steel spear and Falchion. The Prince rushed forward and tried to impale the General, but Mustafar block the attack and knocked the spearpoint away with his axe, before he leapt backwards to avoid the powerful swing from Chrom's _Falchion_.

Mustafa then roared as he brought his axe down and Chrom's body lurched as he barely blocked it with _Falchion_. Giving his closeness he tried to adjust his grip on his lance so he could attack during the blade lock, but Mustafa managed to hold him down with a single hand on his axe before smashing his free fist into Chrom's face sending him reeling back.

Chrom grunt as he stumbled back, keeping his sword up to block Mustafa's next swing he managed to do so, but was disarmed of his sword. Roaring he used both hands to drive his lance towards the General, but Mustafa nimbly dodged.

' _I'm not fighting a man here,'_ the General thought to himself before bringing his axe which Chrom barely managed to avoid, yet the lance's tip was hit and shattered. ' _I'm fighting a feral beast.'_

Chrom roared as he again lunged forward, but Mustafa's swing was strong as it broke his weapon in two and left a shallow gash in Chrom's chest.

"Milord!" Frederick shouted. "All units! We need to-!"

"Don't! He's mine!" Chrom shouted as he threw the pointed pieces of the Lance at his opponent, who managed to block it, but the Prince used that advantage to grab his sword off the ground before charging Mustafa once more as places again clashed.

' _Hey, you were willing to take me in when I really didn't have anywhere else to go,_ ' Ragna had told him.' _I'm the guy who owes you.'_

Chrom roared as he managed to force Mustafa back before cutting him across the chest with his own sword. The General made a desperate swipe with his own blade which would have decapitated Chrom had he not rolled out of the way.

' _You can't answer everything with fighting,'_ Emmeryn had told him when he was young and had just gotten into a fight with another nobles son. ' _I want you to apologize to that boy, you might gain a friend instead of an enemy._ '

"You took them from me!" Chrom shouted slashing and knocked Mustafa's axe away before cutting him across the left side with a second slash. "I loved them and they died because of you!"

' _Do you trust me?_ ' Chrom hadn't need to think before telling his friend that he did.

' _Don't cry,'_ his sister had always told him with her soothing voice.

"DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL!" Chrom shouted as he unleashed another slash on the General, this one was poorly aimed and Mustafa avoided it with ease before leaving a deep cut in the Prince's left arm. "Agh!"

"That cut's going to be your end if it isn't treated," Mustafa informed, though he too was panting heavily. "Surrender now, I can't guarantee that you'll live through this fight otherwise."

"Never!" Chrom shouted as he continued to hold his sword in his right hand as he rushed forward and entered another bladelock with Mustafa.

"Like father like son, you've both fallen," Mustafa said with contempt before swinging his axe out of the bladelock and cut Chrom across his thigh, leaving the prince struggling to stand.

"Chrom!" Robin screamed as Mustafa went for the final blow.

' _Don't cry, I'll always be with you… Never forget that…_ '

With the last bit of the strength he had, Chrom roared as he rush forward and cut the unprepared General in a downward slash. Chrom felt himself get a large rush of adrenaline right before he slashed upward cutting deep into Mustafa's chest and sending out a spray of blood.

"Well done…" Mustafa barely managed to say as he fell to his knees.

( **Change Theme** **To** _And what if I can't? What if I'm not worthy of her ideals?_ (Extended))

"General!" several of his troops shouted as they began moving forward.

"Stay back!" he ordered in a pained voice. "He's won…" Chrom said nothing as he held his sword to Mustafa's throat. "Take it; take my life, take your freedom… just promise me you'll leave my men unharmed… they're just followers of a very foolish General…"

Chrom raised his sword, he held Falchion to the heavens, he prepared himself to bring down his blade and sever Mustafa's head from his shoulders, but not before remembering one last important thing he'd been told by the Reaper.

' _Can I stand the thought of killing the guy in front of me? What's it going to accomplish? Is it worth it? If you can ask yourself that and still manage to off 'em… Well that's just who you are.'_

"...No." Chrom he let _Falchion_ fall to his side. Mustafa watched in awe as Chrom sheathed his sword, remembering the feral beast he'd remembered fight just a moment ago, blood still dripping from the wounds of both warriors, mixed with the harsh downpour.

"You spare my life?" Mustafa asked as one of his medics ran forward with a vulnerary. "Why did you-?"

"Let me get one thing straight," Chrom said with rage as he pointed his finger in the General's face. "The only reason I'm letting you live is because MY SISTER AND BEST FRIEND WOULDN'T HAVE WANTED YOU TO DIE!"

"I… see…" he said as Chrom turned his back to him and slowly staggered towards the Shepherds. "I'm so sorry..."

At his limit, the Prince finally fell to his knees and began sobbing as he looked up into the sky. He cried for the loss of his sister, his friend, and now he almost let himself kill an innocent man. He was a monster now, a true heir to his father's legacy… though words couldn't explain his feeling as his tactician's arms softly went around his neck and brought his head in for a gentle embrace.

"It's alright," Robin told him in hushed voice. "You're okay now."

"J-just the rain," Chrom said between sobs. "I-it's just the rain…"

"You don't have to act like you invincible," she told him with something of a sad smile. "I'm here for you Chrom… I'm always here for you."

Unable to keep himself in check any longer, Chrom returned the embrace and continued to cry. Frederick was about to remind that they were still being chased by the Pelagians, but after glancing his shoulder and not seeing an immediate threat he decided he'd leave his lord be, if just for the moment.

On Mustafa's side of the battlefield, the troops watched in silence, no one saying anything to disrupt the display they were seeing, Ylisse's crowned prince, crushed by the weight of losing his sister and friend, being comforted by who they could only guess was a dear friend of his.

"...No more," Gallic said as he threw his lance to the ground. Many of the other soldiers looked at the rather inept recruit in confusion. "Gangrel still wants to attack Ylisse after this?! Leave me out of it!"

Many of the soldiers looked to each other in confusion as Gallic tried to remain calm and keep a straight face; what he'd just said and done was treason, pure and simple. He'd have his head on the chopping block seconds after the first person told the king.

"Hated that sick bastard anyways," another soldier said as they threw down their axe and walked off to the side to make room for Ylisse's escape.

"If I die fighting it'll be for General Mustafa, not a madman," a Myrmidon said as he followed suit and unclipped their sword.

Then another person threw their weapon to the ground, then another, and another. Before long the entire Plegian side of the battle was unarmed, only carrying secondary weapons in their sheathes.

"We'd better get moving," Robin finally said to Chrom. The young prince nodded as he slowly stood.

"General," one of the troops said to Mustafa as the unit's medics supported him to a stand. "One of our Wyverns just got back from patrol. There seems to be a convoy nearby, but we're not certain who it is."

"That'd be ours," Basilio decided to inform, earning a glare from Flavia. "What, are they really going to attack us now?"

"We wouldn't," Mustafa assured. "But though I'm in no position to ask for help, could you allow these men through your borders? They need somewhere to live, and Gangrel is always direct with handling treason."

"So oaf, are you going to make this decision on your own too?" Flavia demanded as she glared at Basilio.

"Not if you make the right one," the West Kahn answered.

"Well then your men are certainly allowed in Regna Ferox," Flavia told them as she grabbed a personal dagger of hers and handed it to one of the soldiers. "Give that dagger to any man at the border and they'll let you through. Now I'd hurry if I were you, you have families to gather."

"Yes ma'am, but would you mind taking the General with you in the convoy? I don't think he'd be able to keep up with his injuries."

Flavia glanced her head to Chrom who was still being supported by Robin as his sister used a healing stave on him. The prince gave her a rather passive nod and Flavia smiled. "Very well, he's in good hands."

"I trust you," the soldier said before turning to Mustafa. "Don't worry General, we'll find your family and bring them Northside." At Mustafa's nod, the soldier left to gather soldiers to escape to what would hopefully be a more peaceful life.

As the Shepherds parted way with Mustafa's unit and headed toward the convoy they saw Olivia waiting for them at the front. The Prince noticed that she had an odd look on her face and was about to speak out on it when…

"Chrom."

Turning his head in amazement the prince saw her, still breathing, still alive, looking perfectly fine.

"E-Emmy…?" he stuttered, calling her by her old childhood name for the first time in years.

"Emm!" Lissa screamed as she ran forward. Emmeryn barely had time brace herself before she caught the crying form of Lissa who began sobbing uncontrollably into her sister's dress, The Exalt held the form of her sister.

" _Shhhh…_ " Emmeryn told her in a soft and comforting tone. "I'm alright Lissa, I'm so sorry to have worried you."

"Milady," Frederick said as he stepped forward and bowed. "It's truly a blessing that we have you back… but what happened?"

"I helped... a little…" came Phila's voice from inside one of the convoy wagons. Everyone say that she was covered in several bandages, most of her armor had been destroyed, and it looked like she'd lost her left eye, but she too was alive.

"Phila…" Chrom began. "No words can express how grateful I am… but what happened how did you escape?"

"I don't remember," she told him with a strained look in her eye. "All I knew is that I wasn't dead on the battlefield and my Pegasus was still barely alive. We managed to catch the Exalt before the fall-"

"But we all saw you hit the ground!" Chrom insisted. "How is this possible and how did you get away without anyone seeing you?"

"I don't know," Phila shook her head. "I lost my pegasus right before we made it to the meeting point… but I think we had a miracle today…"

"I wouldn't call it that…" Chrom said, his eyes deep with doubt. "Emmeryn for my fifth birthday, what did you get me?"

"Milord," Frederick began. "There's no reason for-"

"A set of dolls," Emmeryn answered surely. Everyone glanced from the Exalt to the prince making sure that she was serious. "He'd wanted me to get him something that we'd do together. On the day of his birthday, everyone gave him practice weapons made of wood while I gave him dolls of cloth once the party was over… I actually still have a few of them my castle chambers."

"And I still have the rest of the set in mine," Chrom admitted before sadly sighing. "That bastard… he kept his promise after all…"

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked. When no one answered her question she glanced around the people that were gathered there and froze, a sense of dread creeping up her spine. "Wh-where's Ragna?"

"H-he…" Cordelia began shakily as tears started to well in her eyes once more. "H-h-he… H-he didn't make it... he didn't make it… We couldn't save him… We couldn't.."

Everyone expected Olivia to react how they had, to break down and start crying over the friend they lost. She did nothing before turning her back on them.

"Get the wagons loaded," she told them.

"Olivia?" Basilio stuttered out.

"Get them loaded so we can get out of here," she repeated, not turning to show anyone her tear filled face. "It… it's what he would've wanted."

Chrom nodded mournfully, before long they were on the long road back to Regna Ferox in order to plan the downfall of the King of Madness.

 _ **Plegia- Throne Room**_ ( **Change Theme To** _**Kingdom Hearts II**_ _Organization XIII_ )

"GAH!" a soldier screamed as he was stabbed through the chest gripping the blade that had pieces him, he looked up at his attacker. "M-my lord… please… I was only messenger..."

Gangrel snarled as he channeled his magic into the sword, resulting in a burst of lightning that electrocutes the man the man from the inside. He mans entire body jolted as blood began oozing from his mouth and eyes. Eventually Gangrel finally tore the blade out of his flesh, resulting in another spray of crimson before the man fell forward to the floor.

"I have no use for failures like you who only repeat what I already know!" Gangrel spat as he took a handkerchief from his kingly apparel to wipe the blood from his sword. "Not only did that stupid blue haired Ylissean prince escape with my _Fire Emblem_ , now I don't even have the Exalt's corpse to parade around the city! How could that thing be gone? I saw her hit the ground with my own eyes!"

Throwing the blood soaked handkerchief on his most recent victim's face, Plegia's king let out a groan of frustration. "And I needed that _Emblem,_ now how am I going to stop the Valmese invasion? My spy reports they've already conquered Rosanne, how long before that _Conqueror_ decides to go overseas?"

Shaking his head the man king went to his throne as seated himself, resting his head on his fist. He didn't have didn't have long; the _Conqueror's_ forces were growing by the day and currently he was the only one who knew anything about the situation in Valm. At best they'd have a half decade if their opponents moved carefully, but most likely they'd have only a year or two.

"S-sire," came an elderly voice.

"Eh?" Gangrel grunted as he opened one of his eyes to address the elderly man in front of him. He was certainly well into his years, wearing a very long and ragged black hooded cloak yet the hood was down, revealing the disheveled, balding man beneath. "Word of warning; I'm in a bad mood right now. Anything you say could set me off and don't think that being old and decrepit is going to save you."

"Y-yes sire…" the old man said nervously. "B-but you wanted to see the c-c-corpse…"

"I thought that we didn't know where the Ex-" Gangrel began before remembering that he'd gotten ONE prize today. The Mad King smiled as he then rose from his throne. "Oh why not? I could use a laugh after the day I had. Lead on old person."

"Y-yes sire," the old man said as he started leading Gangrel down the corridors. Along the way the King found himself on the receiving end of several glares from his servants and a few of the castle guards.

"What's their problem?" Gangrel questioned with a shrug.

"I-it's possible that they are simply shaken," the cowardly man said. "They may not have been expecting Lady E-Emmeryn t-to jump."

"Who care if she jumped? We were going to push her, she did the work for us!" Gangrel roared. "And don't they know that we're still looking for her body!?"

"I-I-I doubt that the people have been informed…"

"Rrrrrrr… well at least we have something to parade around," Gangrel said wickedly as they arrived at the room in the deepest dungeons which held the corpse. The old man opened the door and he ushered himself inside the windowless chamber to see the corpse of the demon that had killed of many of those monsters at the cost of his own life.

Ragna hadn't been giving proper last rites in any terms. They hadn't tried to stitch or cover up his skin to make him easier to look at, none of his blood had been wiped away, and now both of his arms were nailed to an x shaped stand to keep his body standing as his head slumped forward, his blood stained hair covering his face… and oh yes, he was naked.

"Where'd his clothes go? All he's got on is that weird gauntlet," Gangrel questioned. "I rather liked that coat and sword, they'd look good on me while I cut down that stupid Prince from Ylisse."

"I-I may have seen some of your more loyal men with them… I think they were g-gambling with them."

"Really? Well I'll bet they're going to give me that coat when I demand it from their cold dead hands!" Gangrel said as he walked right in front of the Reaper and got in front of his slumped over face. "Hey there _buddy_ … you don't know how happy it makes me seeing you like this," the Mad King said with a sadistic smile before his gaze wandered south for a moment. "...And now I'm pissed. Hey _almost corpse_ , do we have a knife or something I can use to cut-?"

Gangrel then heard the door roughly slam behind. Glancing behind him he saw that the old timer had exited the room, though he'd left his black cloak at his feet.

"Idiot," Gangrel grumbled. "He must be senile to think I can't escape when I've got a magic sword on my side!" Taking his weapon out Gangrel stabbed his Levin Sword at the door, but was surprised when his sword prematurely sent off a burst of lightning as it was deflected from his target. Glaring at the wooden door he was surprised to see it covered in the dark purple sigils from earlier. "The Grimleal!?"

"Typical for an arrogant King," a woman's haughty voice said from the other side of the door. "You really didn't see past my disguise!?"

"I don't know, judging by your voice it wasn't much of a disguise!" Gangrel shouted back through the door before the black flames of the Grimleal started burning away at the door, filling the room with thick smoke.

"You and your insults, it's really no wonder why this kingdom isn't going to miss you, I'd wager that they won't even include an embarrassment like you in our history," the voice on the other side of the door said. "Farewell Mad King."

"Wait damn you!" Gangrel shouted as the flames grew. The Mad King tried striking the walls with his swords, the floor, the ceiling, anything but the sigils appeared wherever he stuck leaving him entrapped in the room as the smoke grew.

"Grima damn it! Naga damn it! Everyone damn it!" he shouted. "I was the only one who could unite us! I was only one that could save us all! ME!" Glaring around the room, his eyes found themselves on Ragna's corpse. "Well it looks like we're going to be burning up together, at least you won't have to feel the flames."

Deciding he'd at least have the last word with something no matter how lifeless it was, Gangrel got right in the Reaper's face. "Just like you didn't have to feel the fires I made when I had those villages torched. In fact, looking at you now I'd say you got off easy! I'm going to die here, but pretty soon everyone else is going to burning from the war! Just like your precious Exalt said before she jumped the plank! WHO'S LAUGHING NOW!?" Knowing he was going to die, Gangrel threw his head back for his last fit madness. "MHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!** -URK!"

Gangrel gripped the hand around his neck as he raspily tried to keep his throat from becoming completely crushed. The dead man's demonic arm had pulled itself from the stand with the nails still impaled on it to choke the Plegian King. As the _Fell Dragon's_ fires closed in around the two, the Reaper raised his bloodied head and stared at the rasping Gangrel with a red eye and green one, both filled with incomparable malice and abhorrence.

" _ **RESTRICTION SIX-SIX-SIX RELEASED…**_ **"**


	23. The War's End and What Lies Beyond

_**Chapter XXIII: The War's End and What Lies Beyond**_

In the Plegian desert on a cloudless day where the sandy ground was still for no wind blew, one single figure walked along the barren, endless dunes. He body was bloodied, dirty, and very much needed a thorough washing. His black cloak was rough and raggedy while smelling of death and decay, but it was all he had to wear. His right arm was bound in black straps with a metal plate and a strange red seal on the back of his hand and it limply swung as he walked. The only tool this man had to defend himself with was a single sword crooked sword strapped to his side in its sheath.

The man continued walking on, his bare feet walking along the course sands of the desert for he had no footwear. Even through the black hood he kept on to shield his face, the harsh sunlight continued to shine down on the man and caused him to sweat. He'd been walking for some time without rest and with little idea where he was or which direction to go… yet the man only kept walking.

As he passed over one sand dune, he glanced downwards and observed a small traveling caravan with smoke billowing out of the charred wagons. Without a word, he slid down the dune, the gritty sand getting in the space between his feet. He came to a stop in front of one of the wagons. Peering around the caravan he found several bodies, some men, some women, and some children. Their eyes had a look of absolute fear in them and there were stab wounds, claw marks and large bites taken out of the bodies.

The shuffling of feet was vaguely heard as the corpse-like bodies of the Risen started to emerge from the smoke. Some had leather bags over their head and only relied on their claws to attack, other wear in various leather armors and steel weaponry, though one of which was wearing sorcerer's cloak and holding a tome of fire magic The Risen gave an ill groan as they stumbled forward, their mere presence was enough to send a shiver up the spine of a normal mortal… but the cloaked figure merely let out an annoyed grunt.

The first Risen's undead body tensed lunged forward with its claws, but the man was ready for this as he tensed his own muscles and unleashed his own attack on the monster, a powerful punch from his left arm which struck the creature through its head. The Risen gave one last pathetic groan before it started to dissolve into shadows. Those shadows wisped around the man to the other side of his body where they slowly went into his limp arm. There was a black spark from the seal as limp are spasmed before becoming able to move naturally. The Risen that he been punched through finished dissolving as the rest of the Risen began to come forward.

A few glowing circles of yellow magic symbols surrounded the unusual arm as he swiped it upwards and sent a ball of lightning at one of the risen and disintegrated his target with ease. A Revenant rushed forward to claw him though like it had the poor people of the caravan, but cloaked figure's right arm shot out and tore the claw off. The Revenant gave something of a feral shriek before its own talons were thrust into its chest, killing it and cause the cloaked man's arm to absorb more shadows.

Another Risen, a Fighter type, ran forward with its axe while the sorcerer behind him finally finished casting an _Elfire_ spell and blasted it at the figure. The figure swung his wrapped arm once more, this time managing to deflect the very attack of magic itself and batting into the warrior that had approached him, incinerating it where the creature stood.

Two Risen sword users (Myrmidon type and a Mercenary type) emerged from the smoke and rushed forward, but their effort was cut short as the man quickly charged an _Arcwind_ spell fired it at the two cutting both of them to shreds and allowing him to consume their shadows. Now only the sorcerer was left. The sorcerer charged up a fire spell, but it was far too late as the man rushed forward, grabbed and lifted the Risen leader above his head, and tore it in half with his bare hands.

With the Risen disposed of, the man looked around at the bodies that littered the caravan. Saying nothing he gathered the bodies together into a single pile. Using his fire magic, he lit the bodies in his small makeshift pyre that would burn away the bodies and the remainder of the caravan until only ash remained. Not a lengthy funeral, but better than what they would have gotten. With that part of his business dealt with, the cloaked man continued his wandering among the arid sands.

 _ **The Plegian Capital**_

"So this is where it happened," Pharos said in the darken hallway. He was observing the burnt room in front of him where only ash pitch black ash remained one the cobble walls and in large piles of the floor. "This is where a King was murdered…"

"A Mad King, but a King all the same," said Anuket Ultaras, a grey haired, wrinkly skinned, and all around elderly woman who was also a well respected member of the Plegian nobility due to her years of experience. She'd been a key supporter of Emmeryn's ideals during the Old War and had kept her people well fed and treated them in a calm and calculated manner. She'd never fully been supportive of Gangrel, but that did little to ease her of current events. "The room was already completely burned to ash before anyone realized what had happened. The Mad King was gone and we haven't seen any of him since he'd been brought here."

"Have you found anything about the man that brought him down to this room?" Pharos questioned her.

"Nothing as far the guards or staff know," Anuket told him. "The person in question seems to have vanished completely and an ongoing investigation seems… unwanted."

"I can't imagine why," Pharos sighed. "We'd be wasting time, looking for a killer that no one wants to be found. You probably couldn't count how many people would have wanted to burn the king to death after Lady Emmeryn's sacrifice and his use of those… abominations."

"Careful Pharos, I hear that those Risen are a mark of Grima's influence," Anuket told him. "I thought you respected your new leader, wanting nothing more than to serve him 'till your dying breath."

"And I still do, but that does not mean I enjoy the use of those things. Wars should be fought with men, leave the monsters in the nightmares of those who don't honor the Fell Dragon, not on the grounds of those who worship him."

"That is how you really feel?" the noble woman questioned before smiling. "I'm glad to hear that you still haven't changed after all of these years Pharos, that's of some comfort to me."

"Comfort will be in short supply in these upcoming days I'm afraid. Even if Gangrel was a monster, that still leaves the throne empty, though I don't expect it to stay that way for very long. There's too much scum in the places of power, all of which would love nothing more than to take the kingdom for themselves and crush any obstacles."

"True, such is the foolishness of the nobility though... Do you think that Minos could take part in that power struggle?"

"It's certainly a possibility, if his power of influence works as well on the people as it does on our cult then we'd have a new King very early with little infighting. And he's undeniably wise and very just in his judgment."

"That would be a nice change from our last king, and I do hope there's no infighting. We'll have enough problems in convincing Ylisse to stop this bloody war," Anuket said with a roll of her eyes. "I hear that Emmeryn's younger brother is much more hotheaded than his sister. I hope my gift to him will be sufficient."

"Gift?" Pharos repeated. He'd known Anuket long enough to be sure that she'd never stoop so low to bribery, but he also knew that she almost knew exactly what to get a person to ease tensions. "What do you intend to give?"

"Never you mind, it's my business to build a bridge between our neighbors, it's your business if they try to burn it," she reminded him before stretching her arms. "As good as it was to catch up with you I should go, I'll be leaving for Regna Ferox within an hour and after the day we've all had have I feel like I should enjoy myself before the journey."

"Enjoy yourself?" the Grimleal's second-in-command asked quizzically. "And what, pray tell, would a noble woman such as yourself do for enjoyment? Drink fine wines? Soak in a warm bath? Perhaps host yourself a feast fit for our former Mad King?"

"Please, nothing so materialistic," Anuket told him with a look of melancholy. "I simply want to spend as much time as I can with my beautiful grandchild. The gods know how much I need to see that bright smile of his."

"See that you give him something to smile about, though I'll never understand why you're leaving your entire inheritance to him."

"Well I couldn't let his uncle have it could I?" Anuket said shaking her head. "I still don't know what my second daughter sees in that man. He's completely motivated only by status, not even caring about the people under him or how to make strong friend with outside nations. Bloody self centered fool…"

"Well you didn't have to leave it all for Leonardo, he may have lost both of his parents, but I doubt an inheritance that large for a child of his age will do him any good. Why not give half to your other grandchild, his cousin?"

"Tharja didn't want any, and I doubt I'll have to fear Leo gaining his uncle's cold and cruel persona; that child has more goodwill in him than half the people of this continent combined."

"If that's your judgment then who am I to question it?" Pharos said with a shrug. As Anuket headed down the shadowy hallway, he decide to inform her of one last thing that he seen while casting Minos's magic spell. "The last I saw, Tharja was with the Shepherds; you might find her in Regna Ferox."

"Why do you think I'm going?" she called back rhetorically. The Hierophant's right hand man smirked to himself as she left; the head noble of the Ultarasian lands was certainly headstrong, especially for someone of her age. Looking back to the ashen room, Pharos thought long and hard to himself.

' _This is going so well, almost impossibly well… It's just like Minos said; the Mad King is brought into his death room which has already been set up with containment seals by some of our other disguised members. Ravia's an unknown master of disguise so she lures him into the room as an unsuspecting morgue keeper and activates the already placed the_ _ **Hellfire**_ _seal to burn him to death, Meanwhile there is speculation tied to his demise, but due to his reputation and his apparent command of the Risen that we sent to the execution grounds, not many people are going to care…'_

Pharos then took a small wooden pipe out from the folds of his robe as well as some tobacco to burn. He wasn't a person who enjoyed smoking all that much, but acquiring the pipe had been one of the most important milestones of his lifetime. As such he'd started smoking it whenever something meaningful happened.

His first day in the Grimleal? He'd smoked it before going to bed. Validar's downfall? A smoke before he'd fought to take the leadership seat. He'd even smoked after his first dinner the day he'd been revived. Now he was about to smoke to celebrate the end of the Mad King and a preemptive end to the second Crusades. He crushed the tobacco and put them into the pipe before giving it a firm press.

' _There will be infighting for certain, but if Minos's future plans go as well as these current ones I wouldn't be surprised if we had our new king within a month and people were bowing to its feet willingly… Is there nothing he can't predict with his foresight?'_

Holding the pipe in his mouth steady with his left hand while he lit a flame on his right index finger using a bit of fire magic, he lit the pipe and allowed himself to save the taste before exhaling the fumes. He was about to let the small flame on his finger die out, but then he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes, something he hadn't seen when the hallway had remained darkened.

' _Black scorch marks on the wall?'_ he thought to himself before looking back to the Mad King's earlier death chamber. ' _And it's completely opposite from the doorway; I was expecting some ash to flow out of the room onto the floor eventually with the door burned away, but this looks like a blast mark. Could Gangrel have… No, that's impossible; those seals could have taken blows from magic or physical forces countless times stronger than his Levin Sword and remain completely unaffected.'_

Smirking to himself at his paranoia, Pharos let the flame die and held the pipe with his mouth as he walked down the hallway, going the opposite direction that Anuket had taken. ' _Besides, if not his sword what could he possibly have used? All that was in that room was a table, several embalming tools, and the body of the Re...'_

The next moment his pipe fell out of his mouth and hit the floor with a gentle _clack_. His face was frozen in realization and horror, his breath was caught in his throat, and for a moment he could almost feel the steel edge of a scythe against his throat as if the Reaper was standing right behind him. Snapping back to his senses, he picked the pipe off the ground and stuffed it within the folds of his cloak before franticly running.

' _NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-_ _ **NO!**_ ' Pharos shouted internally as he ran along the hallways of the castle, not bother to address or even greet the nobles, staff, and guards as he did so, which almost always a custom for him. ' _The hellish damage that he took! Minos's perfectly scripted plan! The way his body was torn to shreds! He was gone! He had to have been DEAD!_ '

Those thoughts plagued him his entire run to the Grimleal's gathering grounds when he got to the front gates he shouted for the guards to open them, which they did and he ran inside without bothering to stop and thank them. Running through the hall he found Minos walking along the hallway with a young girl.

"My lord!" he called out though he was out of breath. The act was more than enough as the Hierophant turned to his right hand man with his hood still covering his face as always.

" _ **Pharos… You seem worried. Has word of Lady Emmeryn's escape reached your ears?**_ **"**

"The Exalts alive!? Damn it! This just keeps getting worse!" Pharos shouted, getting the attention of several passing cultist.

" _ **What's wrong with you? I've never seen you lose your temper so badly…"**_ Minos commented. **"** _ **Now that I think about it, where have you been anyways?**_ **"**

"Speaking with an old friend of mine," the battle hardened sorcerer told him. "But I was also near the room where Gangrel was killed and I think that the Reaper might be alive!?"

" _ **What!? Impossible! That spell I cast had all of the magic energy in an entire kingdom! It was miracle enough that his body didn't turn to dust after the initial flame, but you're telling me that monster is still alive!?"**_ Pharos said as he was breathing heavily and was clearly enraged.

"I hated finding out a much as you did, but that's the truth. There was a blast mark from the room his body was being kept in and there was no way Gangrel could have broken out. We don't have any idea where he could be or what he's doing. For all we know he could have already found Prince Chrom and the others," the Hierophant's right hand man informed. "I hope the peace negotiations proceed well, otherwise by the end of today we all may be dead."

"Come on I doubt it'll be that bad silly," the young girl said as she put her hands on her hips. "If the Exalt's alive I doubt she'll let her meathead brother act like his late daddy and start purging all of a sudden."

"Um… who exactly are you?" Pharos decided to ask as he stared at the girl. She was a very short 4 feet tall in height, was wearing a black cloak, and had emerald green eyes and teal blue hair which was bound into pigtails long enough to go to her waist.

"Uh, hellooooooo? I'm the girl that helped you with all of this! Ravia? Ringing any bells in there?" she rudely demanded.

' _Does she really expect me to believe that? Last I saw her she was a foot taller, had crimson red hair in a ponytail, wore light assassin leather, and looked like she was a strong ten years older.'_ "I did meet you earlier… but your appearance…"

"Oh, that," Ravia said with a casual shrug. "I got bored with the way I looked so I let changed clothes into something more fitting."

' _Changed into something more fitting? What IS she?'_ Pharos thought to himself before turning to Minos who was deep in thought. "Regardless of that, what are we going to do? The Reaper and the Exalt are both alive, we don't have the _Fire Emblem_ , and it appears that the war is about to end."

" _ **The only thing I can do now is report to our Master, but fret not; we still have more than enough time to plan our future attacks…**_ **"** Despite his promise, even though they couldn't see his face because of the hood he wore it was apparent that Minos was more than a little unsure of himself. **"** _ **I shall go pray to Grima and… hopefully I shall return soon…**_ **"**

As Minos continued on his way to the chambers, Pharos remained in the hallway with Ravia as several passing cultists bowed as the Hierophant continued walking down the pathway towards his prayer to the Fell Dragon, yet for once he never acknowledged them. Eventually making his way to the chambers, Minos closed the massive doors before hesitating. Trying to shake the feeling of dread off, he headed for the center of the room and knelt.

" _ **My Lord, please answer my call… I beg of thee to listen…**_ **"**

All at once the room seemed to be flooding with shadows as a cold feeling swept over Minos from the void. He waited for the Fell Dragon's eyes to appear so that he might deliver his report. However this time was different, instead a featureless body of purple flames appeared in front of him.

" _ **My Lord? Has your physical body begun to gain its strength back?**_ **"**

" _ **It has… But enough of trivial details as such Minos; I am VERY interested in what you have to report.**_ **"** The tone of the Fell Dragon was colder than the darkness the two were in, and it almost sounded sadistic, as if it eagerly awaited the news of the failures.

" _ **Yes… and I am afraid that there is no good news to be had… The fault for that manner is mine alone; my plan was enacted perfectly by both the members of the Grimleal and the mages we allied ourselves with in the effort. The issue was that it was not enough, despite the damage I caused the Reaper, despite turning the powers he stole from you against his very being, and despite the Risen that should have mauled him to death, my second in command has reason to believe that he is still alive…"**_

" _ **Then your second in command is wise, for that is indeed the truth… but at least when the Reaper escaped YOU DIDN'T ASSIST HIS SURVIVAL!**_ **"**

" _ **My lor-AURGH!**_ **"** Minos screamed as he fell on his side and gripped his face as he writhed in pain on the floor as blood started to ooze from his horridly healed skin. The dark body of flames towered over the Hierophant as Minos was continually wracked with pain.

" _ **You really thought that I wouldn't notice you use my own power to save the Exalt!? Maybe that Pegasus rider bitch may have been alive, but then you protected them both with an illusion! I thought you were completely dedicated to my cause, but you dare to disrespect me so!?**_ **"**

" _ **My lord please! I beg your forgiveness!"**_ Minos shouted as he rolled shuddered on the floor as his body was continually wracked with pain. He was dying, being killed by the Fell Dragon's very power that was keeping him alive. Now not just his face was bleeding by the rotting skin being viciously ripped open, but most of his robes were beginning to be stained by his own blood.

" _ **Why have you done this!? You vowed that you would uphold my ideals and never turn your back on me! What could have possibly made you act so unfaithfully!? Was it love!? Do you still love the Exalt even after all of the years and the many vows you've made!?**_ **"**

" _ **NO! I DON'T LOVE HER! I'VE WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN TO SEE HER DIE SINCE YOU'VE FOUND ME!**_ **"** Minos screamed as he felt his own skull begin to crack as purple flames began to engulf his body.

" _ **Then tell me the reason she's still alive!**_ **"** Grima commanded. **"** _ **Why did you save her!?**_ **"**

" _ **IT'S BECAUSE I OWED HER!**_ **"**

" _ **A Debt?**_ _ **"**_ Grima questioned as the flames around Minos faded, yet his body continued to be wracked with pain. **"** _ **Choose your next words very carefully Hierophant, lest they be your last.**_ **"**

" _ **Be-Before you blessed me I was alone… I didn't have friends, the only family I had hated my very existence… But she was different… She made me feel like someone who mattered, in fact she may have saved my life from despair itself… In part it was thanks to her I was even alive to meet you…**_ **"**

The Fell Dragon said nothing for several moments as its servant's breath was heavy from the pain inflicted on it. By now Minos was almost completely soaked in his own blood, but Grima's power was still keeping him alive in his suffering.

" _ **This is your second miracle Judge… Your first one was my discovery of you when that fool Validar died. If his spirit had survived I doubt I would've found you barely clinging to your pathetic life in my search. The Second Miracle is having the patience to let you live now because of your foresight and skills… Maybe you're far stronger and far more adept than Validar ever was, but that does not make you invaluable. This is the only instance in all of time that I've allowed a second miracle for a being, Minos... THERE WILL NEVER BE A THIRD.**_ **"**

" _ **I...I understand my lord,**_ **"** Minos promised as the pain finally subsided, blood was still dripping from his wounds and through his coat, but somehow the Judge managed to stand. **"** _ **I swear to you, I will have the Grimleal gain the respect that we rightfully deserve, and I will never allow this insult to happen again.**_ **"**

" _ **See that you never do, otherwise I will find another that can carry my will out… And do not engage the Reaper, he's not to be fought at present…**_ **"**

" _ **As you say my lord... but there are still several Risen in the kingdom. If they remain here then the Reaper can use them to regain his strength... We should-**_ **"**

" _ **My Risen will stay and spread my influence of destruction, but you have my permission to proceed with any plans you might have concocted. Know that you are one mistake away from losing my power and your life. If I am not satisfied with your progress when next we meet both are forfeit.**_ **"**

The body of flames slowly dissipated and the shadows around Minos faded until he found himself in back in the Ceremonial Chamber. Groaning to himself, he slowly forced himself to the feet with shallow breaths leaving a pool of his blood on the floor. He slowly limped over to the doorway and tried as hard as he could to open the doors, he tried with all of his strength but it wasn't enough and as he did was harm himself and open his wounds further.

" _ **Damn…**_ **"** he raspily said to himself as he braced his back against the wall and painfully slid down and hit the floor with an agonizing thud. **"** _ **He's letting me experience death… but he won't let me die, not this time. This is merely my punishment, and I deserved this and so much more… Even if I didn't mean to react, even if I was just caught up in the moment, that still means that my soul is filled with impurity…**_ **"**

He remembered seeing the Exalt as she fell towards her death during the Shepherd's attempted rescue. He'd seen that the Reaper had somehow managed to act swiftly enough to where one of the Pegasus riders had survived and could catch the falling woman. Without thinking, he'd altered some of the remaining seals and created a momentary illusion. Emmeryn had died in the fall to anyone watching or listening, though in reality she had barely gotten away.

" _ **...Gods save me… The next time we meet will be the last…**_ **"**

' _Uncle Bess!_ ' a very young Emmeryn had said to him long ago as she ran to him with a bright smile on her face. A smile that try as he might, he still thought of very fondly to this very day.

" **...** _ **One way… or the other…**_ **"**

 _ **Somewhere in the Plegian Desert**_

The hooded man continued his aimless walk through the desert, though there was no end to the wastelands in sight. The sun continued shining down on him from over head, warming the sand that he walk on to almost uncomfortable levels, but he simply chose to ignore it, just like he was ignoring the vultures that were circling him from overhead as they waited for him to die.

Eventually in his long journey he came across a small town in the sands. The town seemed to be close to a large crumbling ruined temple, covered in the sands and surrounded by tents. As the hooded man walked into the town he saw men in light armor with weapons in sheathes glaring at him as he entered. From their appearance these people weren't soldiers of the kingdom or town guards, they were most likely mercenaries.

"Who invited that garbage in?" one of the mercs said to one of his friends as he took a swig of the bottle he held.

"Looks like some kind of traveling beggar," his friend said as he held his own drink for the moment. "Feh, leave him be. If he's in barefoot in those rags he probably doesn't have any coin worth taking. Maybe on his way out we can nab that sword off of him for _town protection charges_."

The enigma heard what they'd said quite clearly, it was just that he didn't seem to care. Walking along the town's path, the few people that were out were trying to keep their heads down and avoid attention from others. The mercenaries however were walking around town like they owned the place, and given their numbers it very much seemed like they did.

As the man walked along the street he heard the high pitched scream of what seemed to be a young lady coming from one of the buildings. He glanced his head to the building and saw a wooden sign hanging over the entrance reading _The Wasteland's Oasis_ with a picture of a frothy beer on it, indicating it was most likely some form of tavern. The other townspeople didn't react to the scream like one normally would, they simply hesitated, gave a painful grimace, and proceeded on their way.

"Please let her go!" a lanky man with a clean shaven face and raven hair begged inside the tavern. A mercenary roughly held a skinny serving girl with matching black hair with an arm around her waist while other mercenaries laughed and catcalled.

"Aw shut your trap old man and get us some more beer!" the mercenary holding the girl hostage rudely shouted. The man in question was a tall muscular figure in heavy armor (Knight Class). He had a slightly plump head with any hair completely absent and had a few scars that he'd gained from combat.

"Please! I've given you whatever food and drink you've wanted! Leave my daughter out of this!" the man begged again before being towered over by another man.

"I thought he told you to shut up!" a different mercenary said as he hit the man with the blunt side of his sword and sent him sprawling to the floor. The bar keeper's daughter screamed as the rest of the mercenaries let out another round of laughter.

"Aw cheer up old man, things aren't that bad," the armored mercenary said as he continued to hold the struggling girl. "When we take her with us when we leave this rotten town you'll have one less mouth to feed!"

"But-!" the man was about to try to protest, then he saw his daughter's pleading look and knew if he protested he could get both of them killed. ' _Damn them! Damn these men to the depths of hell!'_ Though reluctant, he readied a frothy mug of beer and placed it on the counter in front of the knight. The knight smirked as he reached to grab it with his free hand, but before he could the tavern door was flung open resulting in a sound thud.

The hooded man walked into the tavern, his feet bare and covered in sand while the raggedy hood still completely covered his eyes. The mercenaries of the bar glared at him and muttered unpleasant remarks about him under their breaths.

"This is the wrong place for beggars, boy! Run off before I rip your arms off!" the knight shouted at the enigma as he grabbed the beer on the counter and began raising it to his lips, all while still holding onto the girl. The man did not leave, it didn't appear that he'd even heard the insulting knight. "Are ye deaf!? I told you to get out of our-!"

Too fast for anyone to see, the hooded man crossed the distance on the bar and before anyone could blink he backhanded the heavily armored knight. The force of that simple and quick strike caught the man unprepared as he lost his hold on the serving girl as well as his drink and went flying against the bar's wall despite the weight of his body and armor.

The other mercenaries grunted in surprise and the serving girl had a look of awe on her face before the cloaked man caught the knight's drink in his right hand. Without even removing his hood he quickly began to down the contents of the mug while everyone stared at his bizarre hand. The mercenaries eventually got over their shock and began going for their weapons.

Meanwhile the knight that'd been sent into a wall was shaking his headache off as he angrily growled. This wasn't supposed to happen to someone like him, he was supposed to be in charge here! He had both great power and invincible armor! Whatever fool crossed him would have their head on a stake by the end of the-!

"You can have this back," came an uncaring voice before he was harshly struck in the face by his own empty mug being thrown at him. His growl turned to a snarl as he rose and gripped his bleeding and broken nose.

"Who the hell are you!?" he demanded the unmoving enigma. His mercenary men had their weapons drawn while the barkeeper and his daughter hid behind the counter. At the silence of his attacker, he was enraged beyond his limit and charged him with his single-handed axe. "I'LL KILL YOU AND FEED YOU TO THE PIGS YOU NAMELESS BASTARD!"

He was never able to complete the blow as his arm was stopped before the axe could strike his target. The man's face went taut as he saw the hooded man held his axe by its blade in a single hand with a seemingly bored expression.

"I already died yesterday, I'm not in any hurry to do it again," he said before grabbing the knight's arm, flipping him over, and roughly slamming him to the floor. The knight was about to swear out, but not before his arm was broken at the joint. The rest of the mercenaries seemed to take a step back, except for the loudmouthed idiot that seems to be in every group.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea who we are?" No response. "Well I'll tell you who we are! We're the _Desert Scorpion Mercenary Band_! We make women scream, we make children cry, and we make men bleed! We've even been hired by King Gangrel himself to protect this sorry excuse for a town!"

"...And why am I supposed to care about any of that?" the cloaked man answered. "I just came here to steal a drink from your stupid asses."

"That does it! KILL HIM!" the loud mouthed one shouted as the men ran forward with weapons drawn. "Well tear his body apart and string him up along the town as an example!"

Outside, the few people who were brave enough to risk the streets to get check on friends and buy food paused in their walk as they heard grown men scream from inside the _Wasteland's Oasis_. There was also the occasional sound of someone hitting the floor, the sound of bones being broken, and crash of someone being flung into the wall. The townspeople didn't know what to make of any of these sounds, so they hurried on their way and tried to keep their distance from the bar.

Back inside the tavern, the loudmouth of the group was the only one that hadn't been beaten down, only because it didn't appear he could move his own fear. The enigma had beaten the mercenaries with ease, not even taking a single wound in the process. His opponents were on the ground, nursing broken bones, twisted limbs, and terrible bruises. Despite all of the damage he caused them he'd never once had to draw the sword at his side, relying only on his fists.

"Wh-what the hell are you!?"

"Someone who's pissed," came the menacing voice from underneath the hood. "Get out of my face before I send you bastards to hell."

Several of the mercenaries forced themselves to get up as quickly as they could with their wounds. As they left the loud mouth of course had to try to get in the last word.

"You're in for it now you bastard! We've got men back at out camp and even more coming in from another job! When they get here that pathetic head underneath those rags is going to be put on a pike! What do you have to say to that!?"

"...Maybe I should save myself the trouble and kill you all here so the rest don't hear from you," the enigma said as his unusual right hand slowly went for his sword's handle, causing the loud mouthed fool to stutter before finally getting the hint and running out of the room with his tail between his legs.

"A-Are they gone?" the barkeep said before finally poking his head out from behind the counter. There was some damage done to the tavern, drinks had been spilt on the floor, plates had been smashed, tables and chairs had been broken… but most of that had happened when the men had come in earlier. "Y-you beat them all?"

"Easily," was the cold response.

"That's good," the barkeep said to him to him. "My names Arthur, currently the only bar owner in town. I couldn't do anything when those monsters were abusing my daughter, I thought they were going to carry her off with them and do gods know what. Honestly, I don't know how to thank you."

It was then that a low rumble was heard from the mystery man's stomach. Both the bar keeper and his daughter stared at him speechless for a moment.

"...Some food sounds pretty good," the mysterious stranger admitted before grabbing a chair and taking a casual seat at one of the unbroken tables. A few minutes later he was dining on chicken stew, slightly stale bread, and a bowl of figs.

"Y-You know that you don't have keep your hood on," the nervous serving girl said to him as she brought him another beer while her father tried to clean up his tavern. "I mean you saved us so we won't tell anyone if you're an enemy of the king or whatever."

"Trust me," the hooded men said with a mouthful of bread before taking a moment to swallow his food. "You don't want to have to see this face."

"If you say so," she said to him before looking at the hand he was using to shovel stew into his mouth with the spoon. "What's up with that gauntlet anyway? I've never seen a-"

"Jennet! Don't annoy him! He probably wants to enjoy his meal in peace!" Arthur interrupted. The daughter gave an apologetic bow before hurrying back into the kitchen. "Sorry about that; she's a friendly one, but too curious for her own good."

"I hadn't noticed…" the enigma said sarcastically before finally deciding to ask about the town's situation. "What about those mercenaries? Why are they here?"

"An easy job? Because the king made them? Because our own soldiers are out fighting a fool's war? Pick a reason," the bartender said sadly before leaning in close and whispering. "But they're also here because word got out about a treasure."

"Treasure? From the ruins?"

"In reality we don't know where it's from, but there the rumors about someone finding a suit of armor, something that was supposedly just a piece of a legend from faraway lands. We have no damn idea of how it got here or what it can really do, but those mercenaries want it, they want it bad. Our town blacksmith, my brother, has hidden himself in the ruins to work on it and they've spent all of their time searching for him. They haven't found him yet, but they're harassing the town in the meantime. Once the rest of their forces get here they'll start burning the town to ashes and demand that armor from us."

"...And you're telling me this because...?"

"Because of how you handled those men! I don't know if that armor is as cracked up as I've heard, but if we give you that I think you can beat them! Save our town and the it's yours. My brother'll agree."

"...Fine, it's not like I have anything better to do," the man said before rising from his seat. "How am I supposed to get into the temple?"

"I can help you sneak in," Jennet said as she came in from the backroom. "I've been having to sneak into those ruins to bring food to my uncle and I was exploring them since I was a little girl, I can show you the best way to get inside."

"If we're going to do this then we better get started; I wanted to get out of this town quick and I've already stayed too long."

The two made their way out of the tavern in a hurry with the Tavern girl carrying a basket of food for the uncle. In the streets outside there were no mercenaries guarding the city, apparently all of them had been frightened off by the earlier brawl and the loss they'd suffered. The two hurried around the far side of the ruins and snuck past the mercenaries that were on patrol. The two climbed over piles of rubble and snuck through a few of the cracks that you'd miss without knowing where to look. Eventually the two came to an dusty open hallway.

"Okay, now we just need to find the staircase that leads to the lower dungeons. That's where we'll find my uncle at the forge," Jennet explained as the two walked down the long stairway.

"Okay, but how are we supposed to get out of here? I barely fit through those cracks as it was, I won't be able to do it with a set of armor on."

"There's another entrance; when my uncle first came here managed to get through a large set of iron doors. The iron on them is really thick and there's a powerful lock on the inside. They're not getting in without a battering ram."

"Then what's the point, why have they stayed here so long?" the hooded man question. "Couldn't they just hold the townspeople hostage or something?"

"They're going to, but they need to wait until their boss gets back; the way my uncle tells it he's a legend among mercenaries. They say he's twice as strong as most men and wield a giant hammer that's never gotten even a scratch on it. He loves pillaging and no one ever starts a raid before him."

"So they're waiting for him to get back from whatever he's out for… What's he doing anyways?"

"I heard he wanted to slaughter another group of mercenaries so he left town for a few days," Jennet explained as they heard the sound of metal hitting. "I don't know how long we have until he gets back, but we really need you."

As the two turned the corner, they found himself in a medieval forge with a heavily muscled man with a greying beard who struck a large red hot sword with his smithing hammer. Eventually he picked the blade up with his forging tongs and set it in a pool of water to cool.

"Uncle Travis!" Jennet called to him, causing the old man to become startled.

"Jennet! What are you doing here!? And with a basket… I thought I told you not to bring me anymore food! It's too risky" the man said with a glare in his eyes.

"Must have slipped my mind," she said with a guilty smile. "But I brought someone who can help us! My dad said if we gave him the armor that you made and a sword he'll get rid of the bandits!"

"Him?" Travis said with doubt. "I don't think he'll be able to do much for us. He looks more like a common beggar..."

"A common beggar that beat down ten of those thugs with fists alone," the hooded man told him, causing the blacksmith's eyes to narrow in speculation. "If you want me to help you'll have to trust me, otherwise you're on your own."

"...Any other time I'd have told you to go to hell and found someone else who won't run off with the armor and sword I was going to present to the king, but we can't afford to risk it. Their boss might be coming back tonight and I'll take anyone I can get. Though that still doesn't solve the problem I'm having with the sword."

"What wrong with it?" Jennet asked as she looked at the blade as it cooled. It was a fairly thick blade with a curved front.

"I don't have enough metal to finish it!" Travis said. "I gathered whatever metal I had, but it still wasn't enough to completely fill the mold. Without more metal I won't be able to make it correctly!"

"Then why not make another type of sword?" Jennet asked. "Does it really have to be this specific type?"

"Yes, for two reasons. First, this is the only molding that I brought with me, so it'll be hard to proper forge a blade worth using without it. Second, that blade's an _Armorslayer_ ; the leader took heavily armored units with him and without a proper blade it's going to be tricky to get through that plating."

"Then why not take a piece of metal off the armor and finish it?" Jennet asked again, continuing their back and forth.

"That armor took me months to complete and the metal's too hard to work with! I wouldn't be able to finish it tonight or within a week for that matter!" Travis shouted at them before the hooded figure took of sheathed weapon's straps and held it out for him to take. "What's that you got there?"

"Just a sword I… found," the man said as Travis took the weapon and unsheathed it, his eye growing wide as he looked at the weapon he held.

' _This is an actual Levin Sword! Unless you're a nobel or a merchant with amazing contacts these things are almost impossible to find! And the work on this thing looks like it was made for a…_ ' "What did you say your name was?" Travis asked the man darkly.

"I didn't say, must be because I don't have one," was the curt answer that followed. "Will it work?"

"Better than I thought; the metal on this sword's strong despite being meant for magic and I can melt this blade down easily," the blacksmith said before grabbing a helmet off of the table and tossing it to the enigma who barely caught it. "The rest of the armor's in the back, go ahead and put it on, I'll be finishing up this blade. We might survive to see tomorrow's dawn yet."

"Let's…" the man said before looking at the heavy plated helm he was carrying. He didn't recognize it, but for some reason every hair on his body stood as he simply looked at the piece of armor.

 _ **Meanwhile -Regna Ferox-**_

"I never thought I'd be so happy to feel the snow," Chrom said, his breath visible as he talked. He, his sisters, the Khans, and the rest of the Shepherds had already passed into the Regna Ferox borders and were a short distance away from the capital. Turning his head, the prince noticed his older sister shivering at the cold. "Are you alright Emm?"

"I-I'll be fine Chrom," she tried to reassure him with a smile despite her chattering teeth. Before she could protest further however, Olivia approached her and handed her a heavy fur cloak.

"You'll get used to the cold eventually your Grace, but you'll want this," Olivia assured her as the Exalt covered herself in the fur to keep herself warm.

"Thank you Olivia," Emmeryn told her with a smile. "It's been quite some time since I've seen you."

"Oh, you two know each other?" Chrom questioned.

"Yes, Emmeryn was very kind to me in the past," Olivia said with a small smile. "It was a short time before I met Basilio, I was traveling with a caravan at the time performing my dance wherever I could. We traveled across almost all of the continent, but hard times were upon us. We were in the slums, trying to find food where we might… but then Emmeryn saved us by donating gold and shelter."

"I wouldn't say that I saved you, your performance moved me beyond words and I simply felt that I couldn't let your career and that of the caravan end there in the slums," Emmeryn said modestly. "Though it seems that you've taken up swords wielding?"

"It's more of a second skill your ladyship," Olivia admitted. "I'm not the best, but I have been diligently practicing as of late to keep the so called noblemen away and… another reason..."

"Really? What would that be?" Chrom asked with genuine interest.

"I… I wanted to return the favor of someone who helped me… The one who taught me how to use a sword…"

"...I see…" Chrom said sorrowfully, knowing full well who she meant and that it was no longer a possibility to repay them. "I'm going to let you two catch up with each other, I should probably check on Lissa."

Heading away from the two, Chrom eventually found his sister sitting against a snow covered tree, her head buried in her hands though she didn't appear to be crying.

"Dumb question, but are you doing okay?" he asked his sister who kept her head were it was.

"I don't know… I mean I know that I'm not okay but… I don't know how I'm feeling," Lissa told him. "I'm happy that we got Emm back, I'm really happy about that since I thought I saw her die… but I also saw Ragna and…" The Princess of Ylisse was certainly in low spirits, but she tried her hardest to focus on something else. "Remember when we first found him?"

"You mean in the fields near SouthTown? How could I forget?" Chrom said with a small smile before chuckling. "Remember when we were in the forest and he had to save you, how he slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour?"

"Yeah I remember," Lissa said with a small giggle. "That was before he realized that I was the princess though."

"Would it really have made a difference?" Chrom asked with a smirk.

"I guess not," Lissa said remembering how Ragna had always acted around her, she was about to become sorrowful again before shaking her head. "I'm not going to let myself mope anymore! Ragna would've wanted us to fight back and kick Gangrel's ass!"

"Lissa! Language!" Chrom vented at his sister who merely giggled. "Maybe I should've been more careful of Ragna's influence on you."

"Aw c'mon Chrom, you know that Sully swears way more than I do and no one tells her anything," Lissa reminded him.

"That's because she's neither a princess and or my sister… and she'd probably kick my ass." Chrom had to admit that last part. "You have a point though, we still have a job to do and we owe it to Ragna owe it to Ragna not to give in."

"And I'm going to do my best to help everyone!" Lissa said as she her hands in determination before glancing off to the treeline and seeing a very familiar redhead standing by a frozen river. "Is that Cordelia?"

"Looks like it…" Chrom said. "Go find Emm and get a fur or something to warm yourself with, I'm going to go check on her." As the princess made her way to talk to her rescued sister, Chrom approached the pegasus knight. "Cordelia?"

' _Of course, now he talks to me,_ ' she thought with a hint of irony before turning to the prince. "Yes Prince Chrom? Is something wrong?"

"No nothing's wrong per say, I just saw you standing alone and thought I'd check on you," the prince said to her.

"Well I'm not doing fine, but I'm trying to stay focused on the task at hand," she told him before giving the smallest of smiles. "How long has it been since we talked like this?"

"Come on we've been working alongside each other in the Shepherds since I brought Ragna back," Chrom said, remembering when his late friend had told him that he'd asked Cordelia to join them. "We've talked before, I mean remember when we… when you did that… when…" The prince thought long and hard, trying to remember when he'd spoken to Cordelia, for the life of him he couldn't remember. The few times she was there he didn't even talk to her, Ragna did.

"Like I said," Cordelia told him, and Chrom could no longer argue with her.

"Sorry, I know it sounds like an excuse, but I was fairly busy with other tasks. That still doesn't excuse the fact that I haven't exactly made time to talk with you and make sure you were alright," the Prince apologized.

"...I had crush on you Chrom," Cordelia said, surprising the Prince. "No, it was more that that; I was obsessed with you, ever since you talked to me when we were little."

"Wait, for that long?" he asked with wide eyes. "I… I had no idea…"

"I think you might've been the only one in the Shepherds that didn't…" Cordelia told him. "For the longest time I was heartbroken, I tried to find some way to make you notice me, but you didn't. Even when I saved your life if our first battle you thought that it was Kellam since you didn't see me."

"I see…" Chrom said, cringing slightly as he realized how badly he'd screwed up.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you, someone already helped me open my eyes," the Pegasus rider told him with a bittersweet smile. "But I want you to promise me something, there's someone else that cares about you in the Shepherds, she cares about you a lot. Promise that you won't make the mistakes with her that you did with me, you both need each other, especially now."

"I promise," Chrom assured her, knowing full well who she meant. "And is it just me or is that new girl we found in Plegia, Tharja, is she up to something? Does she seem to be stalking Robin or is it just me?"

"So you're not completely oblivious," Cordelia said with a giggle, causing Chrom's face to light up with a slight blush.

 _ **Back In Plegia: Ruin's Forge**_

"I hope this is enough," Travis said as he held up the Armorslayer he'd worked quickly to finish. The Levin Sword the stranger had given him was just what he needed and he was easily able to finish the weapon with the metal he'd been given. While a Levin sword wasn't meant to be used as a weapon for directly attacking an opponent, with the new shape and addition metal, it should've been able to hack through armor while retaining at least a few magical properties, allowing its owner to channel their magics into the blade.

"Uncle!" Jennet shouted as she ran from the upper floor. "We need to hurry! I overheard some of the mercenaries talking and it sounds like their leader is coming back!"

"Well I've finally finished the sword, now it's just up to our mysterious friend… Do you really think he can take all of the mercenaries?"

"He has to! The rest of us don't have any weapons and we don't even know how to fight in the first place! We'd be slaughtered and they'd burn our home to the ground…"

"And god knows what else," Travis said sadly.

"Well that's not going to happen," came the voice of their apparent savior. Jennet gasped as she saw the man in his armor. "...I have to admit, this suit feels like overkill…"

"Well we don't know just what we're getting into, so it's what we're going to use," Travis said sternly before handing the man the sword he'd made as well as a sheath. "I'm giving you my two greatest pieces of work, don't you dare let us down."

"I won't…" was the response, still as void of emotion as ever. The newly armored man took the and equipped the sheath to his side.

"May the gods watch over you," Victor said before heading over to his workbench and rummaging around for a moment. "I'll get the key to unlock the door. I won't be able to get the lock back on as things stand, so you'll have to make sure none of them get into the town or the temple… Damn it! Where the hell is the key!? We can't get the lock off without it!"

"I won't need it…" came the ominous reply as the figure walked off to confront the mercenaries.

Outside the temple, the mercenaries became a good deal more nervous as their leader came into the encampment. He was a very lightly armored man who stood tall and heavily muscled. He had shaggy gray hair that was almost reaching out like tentacles in the wind, giving him the appearance of a crazed old man… it was only a half deceiving look. He had a few scars on his face making him look even more insane and while no one knew his name, before he was forcefully discharge from the Plegian army he had been given the title _Crusher_. Even Gangrel had thought this man to be too bloodthirsty, wiping out entire squads of his allies and enemies alike. Also, he was never seen without his massive hammer with was almost always splattered with blood like it was now.

His second in command approached his boss, he was the knight from the tavern that was still nursing a broken arm that he'd gotten from the stranger. "Welcome back boss," he said as he approached Crusher. "How was the fighting?"

"Dull, those damn idiots could barely call themselves mercs. Probably just a lot of farm boys with delusions of some greater cause," he said with a gravely voice before seeing the limp arm. "You're hurt, did you run into any trouble or were you just so drunk you broke your arm?"

"I had a bit of a tussle earlier, but we made the man pay in blood for it," the knight lied.

"Oh, is that so?" Crusher said with a chuckle. "Now that I look around I can see more of your unit seems to have taken a beating as well…" Before the knight could fearfully respond, Crusher swung a missive downwards blow with his hammer, breaking the man's head completely with that single strike. "I DON'T HAVE ANY USE FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN'T EVEN KILL A FARM BOY WITHOUT SCREWING UP!"

The rest of the mercenaries shuddered at the sight of the downed knight, whose head had been crushed so badly it was now little more than a saggy, bloody, sack of flesh. The Mercenary leader then raised his hammer and began a his battle call.

"Listen up all of you! There's a set of armor in that temple and with the way those cowards in town are talking about it, I'm thinking that thing's worth a lot of gold! That fool inside won't open up those doors, but he'll open them when he hears the rest of the town being put to the sword! I want that town in flames! Their livestock slaughtered! Their men and children butchered! Their women screaming at the doors! We'll bring him out here when we show him what happens when you refuse the _Desert Scorpions!_ "

The mercenaries let out a loud cheer as Crusher let out a heavy laugh. The men grabbed out their weaponry and were about to begin pillaging the town before a heavy blast that seemed similar to a cannon sounded from inside the temple. The mercenaries remained silent as a weak groan came from the entrance leading to a massive thud; the iron door had fallen.

"Huh, the blacksmith's coming out," Crusher said with a viciously sadistic smile. "Maybe we'll grab him first and have him watch his town get massacred… Heh… Hahahahahaha **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Let's burn it all! This town! The kingdom! Let's burn this shitty world to the ground! All of it!"**

 _ **Clunk**_

The leader paused as heard the sounds of a heavily armored step; he hadn't considered that the fool would consider using the armor himself, but it wouldn't matter. The blood on it wouldn't hurt the price that much.

 _ **Clunk…Clunk...Clunk**_

More heavy steps followed one after another until the figure emerged out of the entrance holding an expertly made Armorslayer in his right hand while wearing the sought after armor in all of its glory.

( **Cue Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn's** _Unstoppable Destiny_ )

The armored suit almost entirely covered in thick plating made of a dark ebony metal and the leather underneath the planting were stained black as midnight. The armor came with a battle skirt also made of dark leather to guard the user's legs. Behind the armor was a repaired cape that was black on the exterior and bright red on the interior, flowing magnificently in the strong breeze. But byfar the most intimidating part of the armor was the helm; it was a collection of more plates, having an opening so slim it was impossible to see the face that lie beneath it.

" **OH THERE WE GO!"** Crusher shouted creepily. **"THAT PIECE WILL BE WORTH ONE HELL OF A PAYDAY! HALF OF YOU STAY HERE AND GET THE ARMOR! THE REST ARE WITH ME AND WE'LL PILLAGE! WE'LL RAPE! WE'LL-!"**

The newly armored enigma raised his sword and channelled in his magical power into the blade before swinging in down and sending out a vertical shockwave that soared forward, wiping out several soldiers along the way with that single attack. The Mercenaries leader looked to his killed men before turning back to the attacker with a scowl.

"Fine… have it your way then… **ALL OF YOU KILL HIM NOW!"** he shouted before his countless mercenaries ran forward in bloodthirsty rage to kill their target.

A mercenary rushed forward and brought his sword down on his unmoving target, but instead of cutting through the armor, the cheaper steel shattered into pieces. As the man gaped, his opponent was not merciful in his harsh slash across the torso that cleaved the man into bloody halves. The next opponent wielded a killer lance and lunged forward before two quick sword slashes destroyed the spear's blade and separated the man's' head from his body. An armored knight quickly approached and tried to ram the dark armored knight with his shield, but the sword managed to cleave through the shield and armor with no resistance at all.

" **DAMN YOU IDIOTS! SURROUND HIM! ARCHERS AND MAGES LINE UP! I WANT THAT ARMOR AND TO SEE THE MAN INSIDE IT DEAD! YOU HEAR ME!? DE-!"** As the troops rushed forward to get into position, the dark enigma send out two additional shockwaves to interrupt the mercenary leader, each of which cleaved through several soldiers, but missed Crusher on either side by mere millimeters. It was a form of spite and Crusher could see that, in fact it he could swear he saw whoever was under that helm with a shiteatting grin on their face as he cleaved through more and more of his men.

"...That does it… **OUT OF THE WAY YOU LOUTS!"** Crusher shouted as he shoved one of his helpless men that was simply in his way. And rushed forward, as he ran through the sands of his encampment, but that didn't stop his men from foolishly trying to take on the enigma themselves.

The Armorslayer viciously cut through another mercenary with a sword before blocking the axe of attacking fool, knocking them off balance, and cutting them across the chest. As he unleashed another slash which cut through two mercenaries at once, a group of enemy mages and archers sent out a barrage of arrows and magic. Before the could hit him however, the enigma grabbed an enemy knight and shoved him in the way of the attacks, causing it to take all of the damage for him. He then performed a spinning attack, cutting through five men at once and killing them all easily.

" **TIME TO DIE!"** Crusher shouted as he finally made his way forward and brought his hammer down as strong as he had when he crushed his second-in-command's head. His weapon was meant for dealing for armored units like him, but the heavy hammer was deflected away with ease by the Armorslayer and sent him off balance. The mercenary commander growled as his opponent stabbed his sword through yet another enemy knight and killed him with ease.

"Is this really the best you've got?" the man in dark armor said to Crusher as the rest of the mercenaries to a cautious step back, yet remaining in a circle around the two. "Even if you weren't the scum of the earth I doubt that you could have protected this town from bandits."

" **SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"** Crusher shouted as rushed towards the one causing him aggravation and swung his hammer again, this time from the side, but the blow was once again blocked with the sword. Heaving to himself, Crusher leapt into the air to bring down his hammer in a powerful leaping blow.

The enigmatic dark knight did not move to dodge this attack; as the hammer came down with such power that it would've destroyed the helm. Instead the Armorslayer he held sliced through the air in a devastating upwards arc that cut through the hammer from the handle to its head. Not only was the weapon sliced in half, but Crusher's fingers were also severed from his hands. The Mercenary command did not even have time to scream as the blade was swung a second time and cleanly cleaved his head of in a spray of blood.

 **(End Theme)**

As their decapitated leader fell to the ground, the remaining mercenaries surrounding his killer in circle stared at the fallen former legend in a mix of fear and awe before glancing at each other and murmuring to each other.

"What the hell is that monster?"

"He killed the boss so easily!"

"Damn! He even took out our other forces without taking any damage! Let's get out of here!"

"Not happening..." the enigma said before the sword glew yellow with lightning magic The magic extended out of the blade, granting the blade a massive reach of glowing energy. Swinging the enchanted blade in a massive swipe, every remaining mercenary had their torso separated from their waist in a final spray of crimson before all of them fell to the ground in defeat.

 _ **Ability Obtained**_ Lightning Edge (Channel Lightning Magic into a Weapon in order to give it the an extended range. This ability costs more Dark Energy than any other technique when maintaining the attack constantly)

The sands were quickly becoming stained red with blood, making the victor glad that his new suit came with a form of foot protection; he'd already been covered in enough blood since yesterday. Sheathing his new sword at his side, he made his way back inside the temple.

Eventually making his way back to the forge he found Travis with his forging hammer at the ready in case any of the Mercenaries had broken through, though he was relieved when he saw the armor. "Oh, it's just you… so is it really over?"

"Yeah, just thought I'd let you know… where's Jennet?"

"Right here," the young serving girl said as she got out from her hiding place with a smile now that the threat was gone. "I'm happy that you decided to check to make sure we were alright."

"Well my damned conscious wouldn't let me leave otherwise… but what happens to the village now?"

"Now we take back everything they stole from us in their camp and whatever else they have. Maybe it they have some decent weapons we can actually protect ourselves the next time this someone tries to through their weight around. Are you sure you want to leave now? We don't have much, but I'm sure my brother can make you a decent meal."

"Can't… I've got shit I need to take care off, and I'm not exactly what you'd call social…"

Victor chuckled to himself. "You know, the more I see you, the more I think that you were meant to find that armor… you make a good _Black Knight._ "

" _Black Knight_ eh?" the enigma repeated before turning and walking out of the forge. "...I guess that's my title now…"

"Just tell me one thing, who the hell are you anyways? A bloodstained man in rags that's able to take out several mercenaries with his bare hands before managing to destroy an entire band along with a living legend in such a short time? You're a damned miracle to say the least."

"...I'm no miracle, quite the opposite actually… _**All I've ever been is the enemy of the world and someone that can't even keep one promise...'**_

Those words were final ones, and the _Black Knight_ walked out of the temple to continue his aimless wandering, while to trying to re-find his place in this world.

 _ **Later- Regna Ferox Capital**_

This meeting in the capital was much smaller than that of the last gathering. Now the table merely considered of Chrom, Emmeryn, Robin, Frederick, the Two Khans, and the still bandaged General Mustafa. In fact the meeting was even held in a different room, this current meeting room was now in the one that they'd first used… the one where Ragna had revealed his past to them all.

"...Looks like it's time to begin the meeting," Basilio said as he sat at the meeting table.

"If we're going to make a move now is the best time, I think we can agree on that," Chrom said to the others with surety.

"No one is arguing with that Chrom, the only thing we're here to discuss of how we're going to move forward," Robin told him. "We're looking at a tense situation at best between our forces and Gangrel's. I can hope that at least of few of their armies were turned by Emmeryn's sacrifice like General Mustafa and his men, but even that's a gamble. If this does become a full fledged war we're going to need more troops, even moreso now that we've lost Ragna…"

"There's not only that," the current Exalt said, seeming to have very little emotion in her words. "The fact will soon come to light if it hasn't already that I still breath, and I do not know how the people will react. I hope for understanding, but I also fear that their thoughts may turn to rage of deception…"

"Aye, some will react that way milady," Mustafa told her honestly with a grimace. "Though I pray that it will not come to war. My words can move several to avoid taking up arms for Gangrel thanks to your brother's actions. _The Son of the Crusading King that Spared the Pacifist_ , it's something to rally behind…"

"I only hope that it's enough," Frederick said to them with a very serious expression. "If we need additional forces that means we'll need to ask Regna Ferox's nobles for their armies and…" He gave a quick glance to Flavia who quickly waved hesitation off. "I can't stomach the feeling of my lord or ladies begging anyone for assistance, least of all them. Unfortunate that mercenaries are hard to come by outside of Plegia."

"We have the Shepherd's," Chrom said with a fiery look in his eyes. "Ragna was helping several of us to improve as we went; right now I'm at a level that I would've thought impossible a month ago and several others feel the same way. Between our members and Robin's tactics I doubt that there's a force on the continent that can match us."

"...Heh," Basilio chuckled at Chrom's words.

"Something you find amusing?" the prince asked the Khan with a glare.

"Nah, nothing like that. Just wanted to say that you remind me a lot of me when I was whelp. Putting faith in the people close to you, the people you work with, damning the odds and taking a weapon to whatever needs a beating… Maybe you've grown from the boy I saw back in the tournament…"

"Thanks for the sentimentality," Chrom said shaking his head before there was a knock on the meeting rooms door. "Now what?"

"Excuse me my lords and ladies," said the soldier that entered. "But there's a person here that claims to be of Plegian nobility. She came from the south on Wyverns and asks to speak with you all…"

"Please, by all means let her in," Flavia said.

The soldier was about to comply, but was immediately shut out as the woman in the hallway passed him by to enter the room. "Thank you, but I'm confident that I can take it from here." The soldier sputtered unintelligibly for a moment before bowing to excuse himself and leaving the room. "Pardon the interruption, but I am Anuket of House Ultaras. I come bringing offering of Plegia's surrender."

"Surrender?" Flavia repeated. "On whose authority?"

The grey haired noble did not respond right away, but instead directed her gaze to ruling Khan and stared at her for a moment. "So the rumors are true; you are magnificent…" she said causing Flavia to raise her eyebrow. "I may be a lady of the courts, but I always appreciate tales of brave warrior women, thrusting themselves in the battlefield and showing up the men who tend to glare down on them all too easily. My late husband and I were particular fans of yours."

"Well I'm glad that you're satisfied, but I'd still like to know who had the authority to overwrite Gangrel's lust for war?" Flavia demanded.

"Khan Flavia... the Mad King is dead, burnt to ashes inside his own castle no less," Anuket told the people at the table who all had the look of shock in their eyes. "And though I can see that Lady Emmeryn is in fact alive I doubt this will matter. We've all learned an important lesson today about clinging to the past, not letting old hatreds die, who we're making suffer and… of the real monsters of war."

"The Risen I'm guessing," Mustafa said darkly. "How bad did the people take it?"

"An entire army of corpse like beings slaughtering a group of Pegasus riders and savagely tearing apart a man who only wanted to protect the true voice of peace? Not well, to say the least. There were already riots in the streets and people demanding justice from that monster. We're not even conducting a thorough investigation of the cloaked undertaker that guided him to his death. I knew it was only a matter of time before he died, but who would have guess it would happen so quickly?"

"I'm almost relieved that it did…" Chrom admitted. "What are the terms for surrender?"

"Simple, we pull any forces we have from outside nations, cease all attacks and skirmishes, negotiate and pay a fair amount for the damages caused, and that's the end of this short and pointless war… Are those arrangements acceptable?"

"I say yes, and damn what the nobles of Ferox think," Flavia said.

"I say yea, though I don't really have a vote to give…" Basilio told everyone, scratching the back of his head.

Though all eyes were on her, Emmeryn did not answer for several moments, and when she did it wasn't the answer they'd been expecting. "I leave my judgment to Chrom."

"Sister?" Chrom questioned before realizing all eyes were on him. "...I agree to the terms; all that ever mattered to me was stopping Gangrel."

"Excellent," Anuket said, seeming quite pleased with the outcome. "Before we go further I have one last thing to take care of, a personal gift of good faith." She snapped her fingers and two Feroxi guards brought in a hickory chest and set it in the center of the room. "They've already viewed the contents, so there's no risk to anyone."

Unsure of what to expect inside, Chrom approached the chest and slowly opened the top of the lid. As soon as he saw the contents, his breath stopped and the entire room seemed cold as ice. The chest contain bloodstained ragged black clothes, a giant sword, and a torn crimson jacket also covered in blood with claw marks and stabs mark on every inch.

"These are… Ragna's…" he could barely say as the people around him glanced over his shoulders to look at the contents for themselves. "Why do you have them?"

"Those were not easy for me to obtain," the Plegian noble told him. "He'd been stripped of his clothes and sword by guards loyal to Gangrel and they had been gambling with them by the time I was finally able to find them. I didn't repair them since I wasn't sure how you'd want to keep them."

"...What of the body?" Chrom had to ask.

"It's gone; burnt to ash in the same fire that took Gangrel's life," Anuket told him, before turning to the other members in the room. "Let's take a moment to ourselves before drawing up the proper document for our surrender. I still have yet to speak with my granddaughter after all."

Everyone agreed and slowly began to leave the room, though Robin noticed that Chrom had not moved from his place in front of the chest. "Aren't you coming Chrom?"

"I will be Robin… just give me a moment…" the prince said softly as his tactician put a comforting hand on his soldier.

"Ragna wouldn't have wanted you to mourn, he'd say he didn't want that kind of annoyance," she said that last part with a smile of melancholy.

"You're right, he would," Chrom said as he continued to stare into the chest. "I'm not going to mourn though… I just want to say goodbye."

Robin nodded as she took her hand away from Chrom's shoulder. The prince expected her to walk away afterwards, so he was caught off guard when she leaned down and gave him a small kiss on the cheek that only lasted for a few seconds. "Don't be long."

As his tactician walked away, Chrom said nothing before smiling softly. "Maybe the future isn't all bad after all," he said while looking inside the chest. "You were just a unknown man on the ground when we first found you, but it's thanks to you that we've made it this far without losing anyone else… If it wasn't for your words of advice I would've done something I'd live to regret when I was in the Midmire… I won't forget you my friend; you'll always have a place in the Shepherds... with all of us."

Chrom slowly closed the chest, before standing to full height and walking out of the meeting room. While Chrom walked towards his future, across the borders the mysterious _Black Knight_ continued his walk among the sands before pausing for a moment and turning to the skies in contemplation.

"This feeling I'm getting… Did I just hear someone? Am I just imagining things? ...Maybe I should get some sleep."

 _While the two tread their separate paths, they may yet meet in the foreseeable future. The Prince moves forward in a clear direction, to carry out his duties as a Royal Leader and bring his people from wartime to peacetime, and protect the realm in his own path and by his own justice. The Black Knight moves among the sands, alone in his journey. His guide is little more than an unclear goal, a vague method, and an unseeable destination._

 _And through it all the Wheel of Fate continues to turn…_

 **Arc the Second:** _ **Armistice**_

 **Author's Note: I don't own either series… Also, NO SPOILERS FOR CENTRAL FICTION IN THE REVIEWS!**

 **Phew! I feel like I had a lot of ground to cover there. Also I know that everyone wanted a different ending to the war after how I ended the last chapter, but this is what I went with. If anyone's still confused who the Black Knight is I'll reveal everything down the line.**

 **Now for the Omake, I had a hard time figuring out who I'd write for. This and other Omakes will take place BEFORE Chapter 22 until I say so.**

 _ **Dammit Rabbit!**_ _(Cue But Frederick, It's Nearly Dark!_ )

"There we go, this is finally starting to get that perfect smell…" Ragna said as the looked at the bunny meat he was cooking inside the frying pan he'd borrowed from the Shepherds. He was cooking the meat over a small fire he'd prepared away from the encampment so he could enjoy some well deserved peace and quiet after a day of saving people from the Risen. Taking a out a few spices that he'd gathered, he slowly sprinkled them over the meat before altering the pan to cause it slide around and cover it in its own juices.

"Just about done," Ragna said before he took another whiff of his cooking, he smelt the perfect aroma of the meat to be sure, but also the smell of roses. "I don't care what you want to say to me, this is my dinner and I want to enjoy it in peace."

"Like a true barbarian, you never once give a proper word of greeting, only trying to attest to your supposed strength and tell others what's yours," Rachel Alucard answered cooly. "Besides, I don't want any of that deplorable carcass that you call a meal."

"Call it a carcass if you want, this'll be the best food you can find without your butler," Ragna said with an obvious smirk on his face. "What's wrong with eating this anyways Rabbit? This used to be someone you know?" His snarky commentary was rewarded with a lightning bolt striking him and coursing through his entire body, but he only appeared to shudder with the attack. "Ouch…"

"If you think that was my way of hurting you, I'll inform you that was only a warning bolt, a real attack will be far worse," the Alucard heir told him. "Honestly, you'd do far better if you knew you knew you place in the world."

"Shame I'm not making soup 'cause that's the pot calling the kettle black," Ragna said as he added more spices. "On another note, why the hell are you bothering to talk to me of all people? Are you pitying me, or are you lonely because Nago and Gii ain't here to annoy you?"

"You're mistaken if you think that they are not here…" Rachel said before raising her hand and having Nago and Gii appear out of thin air with apparent fear on their faces.

"Thank goodness! I never thought I'd get out of there!"  
"Princess! Why did you-!"

Raising her hand again the two disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. "I simply wish to avoid any confusion caused by bringing those two with me everywhere I go."

"Suit yourself, but that still doesn't answer my original question; I can think of at least five people in the Shepherds off the top of my head that you'd get along with better than me, so why aren't you talking to them."

"Well they don't seem to realize what I am, in fact I'd wager all of them see me as nothing more than a child with an unimaginable amount of magic and would treat me as such. You at least understand what I am a little better, even if your actions don't show it." The Grim Reaper said nothing as he continued to attend to his food. "You aren't saying anything."

"Got nothing to comment," Ragna said before hearing a rustling coming from the bushes. "Who's there?"

"I-It's just me…" said a nervous blonde haired, teenage milk maid as she emerged from the foliage carrying a basket full of goods. "I-I just wanted to thank you for saving my farm today. If it wasn't for you my home would be destroyed and my family dead with it."

"No problem," Ragna said passively. "It's in the job description." Despite the few words he said to her, the maid's face seemed to light up and a small scowl appeared on Rachel's face.

"I...I wanted to give you this as thanks for saving me," she said handing Ragna the basket. The Reaper took the goods in his free hand before passively tossing them to Rachel who caught them without difficulty. "Also I was wondering if you would like to-"

"You should head home child," Rachel interrupted. "I shudder to think what could happen to you being so defenseless… After all, the Risen pale to the REAL masters of the night."

The milk maid was about to protest, but something in Rachel's eyes made her sweat in alarm, causing her to bow and quickly head off.

"Well, she was nice," Ragna decided to add before once again smelling his meat and realizing it was done.

"Nice to your standards, maybe," Rachel said, her scowl still present. "The women of this world must be in desperate need of attention if they're starting to become infatuated with you of all people."

"Not sure that infatuated is the right word, but I'd say that just means that they got good taste," the Grim Reaper said as he finally took his pan away from the fire. Feeling cocky with the good mood he was in, he gave a snarky smile to Rachel. "Don't tell me you're jealous."

Ragna had been prepared to take another lightning bolt, but what he got was far worse. This time Rachel's magic stuck the rabbit meat he'd been cooking and charred it completely. Ragna stared horrified at his work before he turned to Rachel who was giving him a cruel smile.

"I'm don't make threats Ragna," Rachel told him as she turned her back on him and headed for her tent carrying with her the basket the maiden had brought. "I make promises."

"Dammit," the Reaper grunted as he stared as he burnt food. "Now I have to find another animal with some meat on it and start over." He was about to throw the entire thing out, but before he did he picked the meat with his BlazBlue and took a bite out of it. It was burnt to a crisp and the leftover lightning stung slightly, but the spices and the general taste of meat was still there. Ragna shrugged before continuing his meal.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Rachel Alucard**_

 **Friend's Sister: OMG! 10/10 I SHIP!**

 **Yes… that's what a fan of the two said when I showed this to her… Not that I've got anything against this pairing. Time for review responses.**

 _Greyjedi449t_ : When those words are spoken you know shit's about to hit the fan.

 _EternalCobra34_ : An apt summary, and I'm glad I managed to make someone "feel" last chapter.

 _MechaDragon69_ : What? Every series has a cliffhanger.

 _Shirosaki Kizuro_ : Updated.

 _Guest (1)_ : Not many people realize he's alive, but the time may yet come.

 _Longtime_ : Thank you very much.

 _Thunder Edge_ : It wasn't so much of a plan on Ragna's part as it was they couldn't kill the guy. Also, PLEASE stop sending me requests for that story of yours. I'm not in a place to write it and while I like both series I can't see myself writing a crossover between the two.

 _DualGear_ : I guess it was a plot twist to some degree.

 _Guest (2)_ : ...Not exactly.

 _Kalakauai_ : There was a lot revealed this chapter, but a lot more questions in the place of those answered.

 _Guest42_ : I know Gangrel meant well, but he doesn't seem like the type of person Ragna would let walk after everything he did, his sadism is just too similar to Terumi's.

 _Adv_ : The cliffhanger is resolved at least.

 _Marconator360:_ It's not Dark Ragna… but I think you might enjoy it.

 _Warrior of six blades_ : As always thank you for your review, I hope to hear more from you in the future.

 _VirusChris_ : The 'her Ragna' part was simply a typo, so you'll have much better idea now. I also hoped you enjoyed my SAO update. (Shamelessly plugging another story)

 _PersonaQeminod1:_ Freak out? Chrom? ...Wouldn't surprise me.

 _Mugen7_ : When I was writing that chapter I tried to play around with a few of the themes. For the end scene I tried to avoid that song because it seemed too obvious, I tried something else that was dark, something else that was created… In the end there was no question, it was the perfect song!

 _Cloud Narukami_ : No, I think there will still be a fair deal different, but I'm sorry if you're disappointed with the trun out.

 _Glint Armor_ : Neither, the Black Knight's theme.

 _Shadow of a Memory_ : Yes and yes.

 **Well this marks the end of what's been the longest Arc for my longest story. Let me ask you all something? In whatever lives you live now, do I help you? Can I give you all some form of entertainment or enjoyment? Can I at least help you through the day with my writing? If the answer is yes then… well that makes me feel very, VERY happy.**

 **Until next time everyone.**

 **Ciao.**


	24. Seperate Paths

_**Alright guys, early announcements. I've got four things I need to address, two of which will be GREAT news.**_

 _ **First, this story's going a BRIEF hiatus. I'm going to need a little more time to work a few of the kinks out that I have coming up, so after updating**_ _ **The Grim Reaper and the Beastkin Reloaded**_ _**I will then update**_ _ **A Reaper's Game**_ _**before moving back to this story.**_

 _ **Second is pretty casual, I played through CentralFiction's story mode and while I won't reveal anything, the ending of the series was different than mine (no big surprise). I'll make sure the Omake's don't clash with the canon ending, all the while not giving away anything about CF's ending. I may also later change Ragna's origin story (and a few Omake's) and go back to fix that. Won't be too big a deal, but I think I'll wait a few months on that one, give you all a time to play the game.**_

 _ **Third, I'm putting up a survey for the Harems that will be done in the review section (which I always read). What I want you to do is come up with the two harems that we'll see between the cannon chapters. Points go to creativity, popularity, and whether or not it at least makes A LITTLE sense. Here are the rules that they will need to follow.**_

 _ **2-5 Girls (Might make an exception for six. Seven? Very Unlikely.)**_

 _ **They have to be girls that Ragna knows about. (i.e. No Say'ri, Tiki, or Cherche this time (sorry) Tharja's fine though)**_

 _ **More of a preference, but try not to make it where there's only one main girl and the rest are mistresses/concubines.**_

 _ **Fourth and quite possibly most important is a promise; after finishing this fiction I, Storm VII, solemnly pledge to begin writing a Fates fiction… with ALL of the BlazBlue characters cannonly in the story.**_

 _ **Those are my announcements, enjoy the next chapter. Sorry if things don't make sense in a few places, had a pretty bad head cold when I was writing this.**_

 _ **Chapter XXIV: Separate Paths**_

"Leave!? Are you insane!?" A young female mercenary said to her second in command. Her cropped raven hair, her silver plated armor, and her bloodstained _Killing Edge_ gave her quite the visage of a formidable fighter. She'd often been referred to as the _Black Thorn of the Wastelands_ and it was a title well earned. "The Merchant's caravan will be arriving in only a few hours, and you want to abandon this town before we even begin to extort them!?"

"But boss we need to be careful! You heard what happened with Crusher didn't you? His men were completely destroyed and its been said that even he didn't stand a chance." The person talking to Thorn was your typical bandit. Burley, smelly, cowardly, and usually very stupid.

"Idiot, those are just some tales a bard's strewn around in order to pay for his supper," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, even if they were true he's near the docks now, the exact opposite side of the kingdom. We don't need to worry about him… Now get back to work, find everything of value you can!"

"Y-Yes sir!" the soldier said with a salute before running off and barking orders to the rest of the men.

"Fools," Thorn muttered to herself and she made her way through the sandy city. She passed by several families screaming as they ran out of their homes while her men looted them. She saw children huddled up with their mothers as tried to stay away from the chaos, their eyes wide with fear unable to avert their gazes. She saw the market in turmoil as the mercenaries grabbed all of the food and wares they could and shoved any opposition to the ground with a sound beating.

Did she enjoy it? No, only a monster would and she had sense of pride about her, but in order for a mercenary to survive in this world they needed to know how it worked and that went double for female mercenaries. In the end no matter what they did in the war it'd always be the same, they were sell swords and they'd just go to their next battle ground like always.

But even that wasn't so simple, Gangrel had died before they'd gotten paid and it didn't seem like anyone was about to step forward with the gold he'd owed them. They didn't have any idea when their next job would be, and with the war already over it made even less sense to hire a woman mercenary and her band.

"What a rotten world," she said darkly to herself. She was about to proceed on her way before she heard the pain filled grunt that came from one of her men.

"You little bastard!" he shouted in a feral rage as he grabbed a child, no more than ten years old, by his throat and hoisted him off his feet. The was a small dagger in the mercenaries bicep, causing blood to spill down his arm. "Boss let me kill him! Let me kill this brat!"

Thorn glanced to the suffocating boy, to the man choking him, to the corpses at their feet. There were two; man and woman, both had been killed by by a messy sword swing and had the look of terror on their eyes as they died… the boy's parents.

"...Do whatever the hell you want," Thorn muttered as she turned her head away from the scene.

She didn't condone the scene, but all the same she didn't feel like watching. She heard it though, the child's pain rasps as his throat was slowly crushed… but both she and the murderer paused as they heard the sudden sound of a blast and then the screams of several of her other mercenaries.

"What the fu-!?" That was all the mercenary choking the child could shout before he was struck through the head by an expertly shot arrow. His rolled to the back of his head, his arm holding the child went limp, and his dead body fell forward, completely covering the unconscious child.

' _An archer?_ ' Thorn thought to herself before seeing the shooter standing as they readied another arrow to fire. This one appeared to be different than the usual Plegian guard's she'd seen. This one was wearing armor that was of black leathers and dark purple plates and wore a helmet that seemed to resemble that of a horned dragon. The archer fired the second shot with lethal accuracy, but Thorn managed to draw her _Killing Edge_ and deflect the arrow before it could strike her.

' _What's with that armor? I've never seen anything like that before!_ ' Thorn thought to herself as she heard the screams from around the city as her men were easily defeated by allies of the archer. ' _Oh, to hell with this!'_

The _Thorn of the Wastelands_ ran forward toward the shooter as they fired a second shot which was avoided by dodging to the side. Running forward towards the shooter as fast as she could, the archer tried to get a hurried third shot off, but it missed Thorn completely. The Mercenary leader leapt into the air and howled as she brought the blade down.

 _ **CLANG!**_

Both Thorn and the shooter were surprised at the wall of purple and black flames that had appeared in between them, stopping Thorn's sword. The wall then sent of burst of power her direction, causing her to scream as she was sent flying, her face was terribly burned by the attack. The Mercenary rolled on the floor for a moment before managing to come to her feet while holding her killing edge.

" _ **I'll handle her,**_ " said the raspy voice of an mysterious hood figure in black robes with strange markings that identified him as some sort of cultist. " _ **Attend to that child buried beneath the man you shot; if you hurry he may survive this encounter yet.**_ "

"Yes lord Hierophant," the archer said with a bow as he hurried past Thorn. She made no effort to stop or attack the one that had shot arrows at her; all attention lay on the mysterious hooded newcomer.

' _Hierophant?_ _But I heard that Validar already died in the failed assassination attempt against the Exalt… Does that mean this guy's his replacement?_ '

Thorn felt the unease of simply staring at the man, it was greater than any unease she'd gotten when charging any other force of men, great than any other time she'd been forced to retreat as the rest of her men had been slaughtered.

" _ **The Thorn of the Wastelands…**_ " the figure said with a horridly raspy tone as he turned to face the woman he'd just addressed. Underneath the darkness of the hood Thorn could only see a pair of glowing purple irises. " _ **You and your men stand accused of oppression of the innocent, taxation unapproved via the kingdom, highway robbery... and murder.**_ "

The figure opened his left palm and black flames emerged, they then grew further before condensing and forming the handle and blade of wicked scythe that gave the occasional spark of demonic black lightning. Thorn raised her eyebrow at the man's choice of weaponry before glancing at her own sword and seeing how unimpressive her once formidable blade really looked in comparison.

" _ **Surrender, and the Fell Dragon may yet grant you a merciful fate in your afterlife,**_ " he offered as he rested the scythe's handle in both of his hand. He appeared to be at complete peace, as if he was already the victor of whatever decision was made. Thorn didn't take kindly to his attitude and took a single slow and calculated step forward, holding her sword up as she did so. " _ **Very well, trial by combat it is. I, Hierophant Minos, shall decide your fate.**_ "

The hooded figure's form seemed to shimmer for a moment before it slowly dissipated into dark misty shadows and leaving no trace of the man. Thorn's eyes grew wide for a moment, but then her reflexes kicked in as she felt a rush of the wind behind her. Leaping forward, she managed to dodge the attack of the Hierophant's scythe just barely, as a few of her hairs gently fell to the floor. Turning back to her attacker, she saw that there seemed to be a small patch of dissolving dark flames from where Minos was standing.

Her opponent then kept striking at her with a constant barrage of swings, leaving Thorn no time to retaliate against such strong blows. She blocked another attack before taking a quick step back and scrapped her sword on the sand before sending a cloud it at her opponent, trying to get her opponent's eyes. The trick did nothing against Minos who, with a simple flick of his finger, created a gale of darkness that sent the gains straight into Thorn's eyes. Her eyes blinded, Thorn could do little more than flail her sword and hoped that she'd hit her opponent. Minos effortlessly blocked the first three of her swings before masterfully cutting her across the stomach and sending her sprawling to the floor as she experienced a definition of pain that she'd never dreamed.

" _ **A short and meaningless bout,**_ " Minos said as he held the scythe's blade at Thorn's throat as she remained immobilized on the ground in her agony. " _ **Have you anything to say before I pass judgement? Grima is not without forgiveness, you may atonement at your last moments…"**_

"I...I-!" Thorn stuttered as she gurgle at the blood and bile before she coughed it out. "ROT IN HELL YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU AND YOUR FELL DRAGON ARE JUST FANTASIES OF A SPOILED BRAT'S DREAMS! YOUR CULT JUST A COLLECTION OF FREAKS LIKE YOU!"

" _ **...IS. THAT. RIGHT?**_ " Minos demanded with his voice causing the very ground to shake. He brought his scythe against Thorn's face and cut shallowly into it. " _ **I WAS WRONG. YOU DON'T DESERVE A CHANCE AT ANY AFTERLIFE. YOUR SOUL SHALL BE NO MORE!**_ "

The scythe cut the mercenary leader into two vertical halves, sending out a spray of blood before they violently consumed by black flames which crushed it violent. All the while a woman horrific screams emitted from the halves, though Thorn had surely died from the first cut. Once the was the deed was done there only a blood spot on the ground. No body, armor, weapon, nor even soul now remained of the _Thorn of the Wastelands_. Keeping the firm hold on his scythe, Minos walked off to continue purging the town of mercenaries.

 _Ylisse Castle -Office Chambers-_

"The _Order of the Sacred Wings_?" crowned Prince Chrom repeated as he held the papers in front of him.

"Yes my lord, that is what this organization is calling itself," Frederick the Wary told him. As usual he was outfitted in his great knight armor, even if it was for a simple task such as bringing news and documents. "They're made up of several divisions of Plegia's armies and claim to act as agents for the wellbeing kingdom, Since their recent creation it seems that they've taken to routing out the hostile mercenaries that Grangel had hired to keep his towns safe while he organized his own troops. It was a terrible strategy, and a costly one, but it seems as though the newcomers have taken to protecting the people."

"...I see," the prince said as he glanced out the window. The sky was a calm blue, the clouds were soft and light, and the birds were giving an occasion song as they flew past. How strange, he often thought, that the war had ended barely a week ago and Ylisse had readily moved on.

"Is something wrong my lord? Your mind seems elsewhere at the moment," Frederick said, bring the prince out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, I'll focus on the report," Chrom told his right-hand man as he continued looking over the parchment in his hand. "This organization claims that they're for the people, but the name tells me that they're still a cult. How much of the Grimleal is in the organization?"

"More than nine-tenths…" Frederick said grimly. "They seem to occupy most of the organization and it even seems that their Hierophant is the leader of the _Sacred Wings_."

"Hierophant?" the Prince repeated as he was unsure what the term meant.

"Lady Anuket does not go into great details for the position for she has little information on the inner workings on the Grimleal herself. All she can tell us with certainty is that the Hierophant leads the cult and the worship of Grima. Apparently the current leader, Minos, is new to the job after their previous Hierophant was killed in the earlier assassination attempt of the Exalt."

"They sent their Hierophant during the assassination? ...That must have been Validar, the man that Aversa described that was killed by Ragna." Saying the name of his late friend didn't sting as much as it once had. Chrom realized he had his duty just as Ragna had once had his. "So the _Sacred Wings_ are fighting abusive mercenaries. I doubt we don't have anything worry about for the time being. If they start trouble with us we still have our alliance with Flavia… but ask Anuket to keep us informed in whatever way she's permitted."

"Indeed, I'll proceed accordingly," Frederick said with a nod before going to the next set of papers. "Moving on, we've had success driving the Risen out of the more populated areas of Ylisse. It's hard to say how long this will last due to their ability to appear seemingly out of nowhere, but our towns are fortified and protected for now."

"Still I want to see if we can find out if there's means of stopping them for good, tell Mirel to continue her research." The Great Knight nodded at the order and made a note to do so. "How are the other kingdoms managing with the problem?"

"Regna Ferox's situation is similar to our own; they've managed to drive the Risen out with the proper support the towns have been given thanks to Ragna's previous… intervention. Flavia and Basilio have even been having the occassion match with each other to see which Kahn can slay more Risen."

"Big surprise," Chrom said with a brief whimsical smile before returning to business at hand. "And Plegia, I take it they've had this _Sacred Wings_ group to eradicate the Risen."

"No actually," Frederick said seriously. "We've gathered our reports and it seems that they've done very little to engage the Risen. Many of the Risen have been driven back by the few loyal groups of mercenaries that still exist or…"

"Or?" Chrom questioned, not sure why Frederick was hesitating so much.

"We've had… rumors. There have been stories coming from the towns of a single warrior who has managed to eradicate both the nightmarish Risen and abusive Mercenaries as he travels through Plegia. No definitive proof has come to surface, but most of the stories from the villagers seem to match the general description of a warrior in midknight black armor that has never revealed his face. They've taken to calling him _The Black Knight_."

"The _Black Knight_ ," Chrom repeated, his mind going from one place to another before he shook his head. "We already have enough to worry with rebuilding our kingdom to worry about this rumor. Besides, conducting an investigation on the other side of Plegia's borders could be seen as an aggressive action. Leave it be, but keep me notified if a situation ever does arise."

"As you say milord," Frederick said with a nod. The Knight was impressed by Chrom's growth after the war, the young prince had jumped right after politics and the responsibilities that were required of him. Gathering his papers, Frederick addressed the prince one last time. "Shall I pass these along to your sister?"

"No, let's leave Emmeryn out of politics for a while longer," Chrom said as he stood. "I can keep the nobility at bay for now, involving Emm in politics after she was just captured might just overwhelm her."

"As you wish," Frederick said before bowing and heading out of the office. With his aid gone Chrom began looking over the paperwork he currently had on his desk and groaned before returning to sign them and continue his work.

 _ **Castle Library**_

The Castle Library of Ylisse was one of the largest sources of knowledge on the continent and it was often found in use by scholars, politicians, up and coming mages, tutors, and list went on. Currently the rows and rows of bookshelves loaded with tomes had a few Nobles and mages looking through the them, but a certain member in the room was neither. Robin was sitting at the table surrounded by stacks of tomes on strategy and other military techniques of days long passed. The tactician was making fast work; recording strategies down into her own personal tome, making notes for improvements, and even beginning to commit them to memory.

After finishing one of her entries, she let out a deep breath and stretched her arms. "Look's like I'm making some good progress," she said to herself before glancing behind her noticing the shadow coming from behind one of the shelves. "Tharja is that you?" No response. "Come on Tharja, I know you've been following me."

"Noticed me have you?" the Plegian dark mage said as she came out from behind the bookshelf. "I was just here… looking for a tome on Dark Magic."

"Tharja, Ylisse's library doesn't have any tomes on Dark Magic," Robin reminded. "If you'd wanted a tome on that you'd be better off going to find a merchant carrying one… and I think you know that. So why are you following me?"

"I have my… reasons," Tharja said modestly. "What? Do you wish that I'd gone back to Plegia once the war was over?"

"No I never said that," Robin told her truthfully before becoming somewhat worried. "No one's said that to you… have they?"

"You're sweet to worry, but I haven't dealt with anyone outright saying it though I'm sure someone's thinking it."

"I'm just a little curious why you decided to come back with us. Didn't you Grandmother try to convince you return to Plegia with her?"

"Hardly, after making sure that I was in good health and safe company, she simply let me know that my father, her son-in-law, was furious and demanded that I return home immediately." Tharja then gave something of a snarky smile. "If anything she was kindly asking that I went with you all for the time being."

"I see," Robin thought said perplexity. Just how chaotic was Tharja's family anyways?

"Besides I'm _very_ interested in getting to know you better," the Dark Mage said, causing Robin to cringe slightly. "There's just something about you that I find… interesting. It was a feeling that I got when I first saw you with him."

"With him?" Robin repeated not having any clear indication of who Tharja was referring to.

"You two seem to be in good spirits," came a familiar voice. The two turned their heads to see Aversa walking towards them with a tome of her own in her hands. 'Funny, if the two of you were gossiping I would've thought the castle gardens would have been a better place."

"Who's gossiping?" Robin asked with a heated glare directed at Aversa. Gangrel's former assistant had occasionally offered her 'thoughts' on some of Robin's strategies. They were just mild remarks like 'I think this should go there' or 'If you move this here you'd protect our flank and keep our archers from getting killed.' She hadn't meant to be rude, but after some time it turned into something of a bitter rivalry.

"Only a jest, but with all of those tomes you're reading I'm glad to see we have dedicated tactician," Aversa told Robin, giving her a rare compliment.

"I'm only doing what I need to, but what's that tome you've got there? Working on a project of your own?" the Tactician questioned.

"No… I'm merely looking into a lead that I heard about in the usual reports to Chrom," she answer with a shrug.

"In the reports? But those are supposed to go right from Frederick to Chrom and later and he'd only address us all about it if it's highly concerning, so how did you read them?"

Aversa gave a sultry smile. "Information can easily be obtained by anyone, regardless of status. You just need to know how..."

"Aversa…" Robin groaned.

"Oh please, I didn't have to do anything particularly devious, I simply managed to obtain the incoming message from Lady Anuket before letting Frederick find it," Aversa with a casual shrug, though it didn't help Robin's attitude much.

"So what was in my grandmother's report then?" Tharja asked with curiosity.

"Apparently there's a new group of power on the rise and they seem to include much of the Grimleal," Aversa said before scowling. "And something tells me it was their work that caused Ragna to be killed during the rescue."

"Aversa I don't want you doing anything drastic," Robin warned, trying to put authority in her tone. "We just managed to stop one war, I don't want you to start another even if what you're thinking is true."

"They already have plenty more to answer for, but don't worry; I won't make the first move. Something tells me I haven't seen the last of them one way or the other. But that wasn't the lead I was looking into, I'm focusing one addressing a figure known as _The Black Knight_."

" _The Black Knight?_ " Robin repeated before turning to Tharja who shook her head at her own lack of information. "What did the report say about him?"

"Only what's been heard through rumors. Apparently he's been single handedly handling Plegia's Risen situation while defending helpless villages from the mercenaries that Gangrel had hired… I was never at his side when he selected sellswords to hire, but a part of me thinks that he didn't care much for their previous crimes. Anyways, this figure's apparently powerful enough to wipe out small armies with little effort and it's like he's appeared overnight, so I'm trying to research where something like him might've come from."

"So have you found anything?" Robin questioned, knowing that information could turn vital if this enigma tried anything against Ylisse.

"Nothing that gets me any closer," Aversa admitted. "There's a rather unique unit type called a Dark Knight, but they're known for fighting on horseback and using tomes so it seems unlikely that there's any real connection. At the moment I'm at a loss of leads…" The previous Dark Flyer then turned her head at the sudden rapid approach of footsteps, coming from the approaching form of the kingdom's princess. "Honestly child, this IS a library."

"Sorry, I've been trying to find Robin for a while," Lissa admitted with a guilty smile. "I've been having a lot of trouble trying to pick up magic, so I was hoping that you could maybe help me out?"

"Any other time I would, but I've got strategies to read up on and reports to discuss," Robin told Lissa. "But maybe these two could help you, both of them are accomplished mages."

"I won't be able to," Tharja said somewhat creepily. "I have… other things I need to attend to."

"Stalking Robin then?" Aversa questioned, earning her a glare from Tharja, but no denial. "Spending some time with the princess might grant me some credibility to my name and keep the nobility from glaring at me every time I walk down the hallway, but I'm afraid I've got my own project to work on and a _Black Knight_ to follow."

" _Black Knight?_ " Lissa repeated before appearing to think very hard as her features tightened in a thoughtful pout (a kind of cute pout at that). "That name sounds kind of familiar… but where was it I heard it?"

"You've heard it before?" Aversa questioned. "Can you remember when? I've looked over all of the famous swordsmen in recent history and I've never come across the title once."

"It was a long time ago… I think I was just a kid when I heard about it. Maybe it was a bedtime story?"

"A bedtime story?" Tharja repeated. "So you're probably thinking of a myth, is that all you have to say or is there any other useless face you'd like to tell us?

"Tell us?" Lissa repeated strangely at those two simple words. "Tell us… tell us… Tellius! It was a story from Tellius!"

"Lissa! We're in a library!" Robin hissed at her, causing the princess cringe at the realization before noticing several of the libraries other patrons staring at her. "And what in Naga's name is Tellius?"

"A land from legend supposedly," Aversa told her with narrowed eyes before hurrying off to a nearby bookshelf.

"Well it looks like I won't be able to get any other these notes finished after all," Robin sighed as she started putting a few of the tomes in her bag. "So what's so special about this Tellius place?"

"You've never heard of the stories of the Radiant Hero?" Lissa questioned the both of them, prompting Tharja to also shake her head. "I mean I heard most of them as kids, so why haven't you?"

"I don't really remember any of my childhood stories because I can't remember my childhood," Robin reminded.

"I was raised on… different stories," Tharja said darkly. "Most of them were about the _Fell Dragon_ or tales of monsters that would steal the souls of children that didn't listen to their parents."

"Right…" Lissa said with a cringing face. "If I remember it correctly Tellius was home to a warrior that's been called the _Radiant Hero_. He was supposed to have been an amazing warrior, wielding a sacred blade and saving his entire continent. I don't really remember how the _Black Knight_ was part of the story though."

"He was an antagonist to the hero it seems," Aversa told the others from where she'd gone to retrieve her next tome. "Apparently there was a long and bitter hatred between the two. This tome tells that they've fought several times, but eventually the Knight died in their final duel… this doesn't say who he was though, only that a mere man could never properly conceive his power..."

"So it can't be him," Tharja summarized. "Doesn't seem like much of a lead."

"Not quite true," Aversa said as she turned the tome so that it faced the others, showing an illustration of the knight. "The black armor, helm design, and cape all seem to match what the rumors stated in the reports."

"That's not too concerning, a lot of warriors can wear the armor of legends in order to inspire fear in their enemies or courage in their allies," Robin said, momentarily remembering the mysterious Marth character and the hero she was trying to represent. "Just because someone dresses up in similar armor or even the same armor as a legend doesn't put them at their level of power."

"Normally I'd agree with you," Aversa began as she returned her gaze to the tome. "But this is a different case normal. The armor may be a replica, but if its not then it _could_ carry the previous enchantment that made it immune to all weapons. In fact, the only weapon that was able to break through was the _Radiant Hero's_ blade _Ragnell._ "

"...Then we do have reason for concern," Robin admitted. "I've done some reading on _Falchion_ , and while it may be able to beat that enchantment, we don't know if it can do that in its current state… maybe the armor's enchantment wore off?"

"More than likely," Tharja decided to put in. "Hexes that increase or decrease a person's abilities are powerful, but give it a proper amount of time and they'll wear off eventually. A stronger hex may lead to longer effects, but they'll all fall in time… or death."

"Still seems like a risk," Robin admitted before heading over to Aversa. "May I?" she asked, holding her hand out for the tome which she was given. "I'll let Chrom know about this, I'm supposed to meet with him now anyways."

"You've really been spending a lot of time with Chrom lately," Lissa commented with a giggle causing Robin to blush.

' _Curses! Now I need to be on the lookout for Chrom!_ ' Tharja raged internally. ' _But if I hexed him I could put everyone into another war and I don't want to do that to Robin… WHAT DO I NEED TO DO FOR LOVE!?'_

"Of course, I'm working with Chrom on strategy and reports so I'd have to be seeing him a lot if I were to do my job," Robin argued as she grabbed her bags. "I'll see the you all later, I should be going."

"Yes, please, don't keep Chrom waiting," Aversa said with a smirk which Robin returned with her heated glare. "A word of warning though, I myself might not have interest in our handsome prince, but it's clear that other ladies of the nobility will try to claim him for their own, even just for political gain… It would be better for the both of you if you didn't stall things any longer than need be."

"...Maybe you've got a point," Robin admitted causing Lissa to giggle while Tharja grit her teeth. "Well thanks for the help Aversa, this might give us some more insight on the _Black Knight_ character and what we can expect from him."

"It was my pleasure tactician," Aversa said with a well meaning smile. It would have been simpler if she'd left thing there, but she just had to whisper into Robin's ear. "And hurry up with Chrom, I have the feeling that the Princess and Exalt want to be aunts sooner than later."

A blush was immediately visible on Robin's face. "AVERSA!"

"Shh... we're in a library, remember?" Aversa said with a somewhat haughty smile. Robin conceded to that fact, put her hood so no one she passed could see her expression, and hurried out of the library.

"Wait, what did you say to her?" Lissa questioned as Tharja followed Robin in the shadows.

"Just a few simple words of encouragement," the former Plegian Aid said with a soft smile before putting a hand on Lissa's shoulder and guiding the nervous princess out of the Library. "Come with me princess, I believe I owe you a lesson in magic."

( _Author's Note: I'm not going to reveal too much of the Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn storyline in this chapter, mainly because I want you to see it for yourself. I rarely promote games, but if you have a Wii and a decent amount of money to spend (these games are PRICEY) I highly recommend you play it. They're much harder games than Awakening (no level grinding) but it's well worth it in my opinion. Or watch a Let's Play on YouTube for the story, your call. You won't need it for down the line, but still… SUCH GOOD GAMES!_ )

 _ **Chrom's Office**_

The crowned prince was still sitting at his desk looking over documents he'd need to sign and other reports he'd needed to read. He was currently overlooking one slightly more painful report when he heard a knock on the door.

"Enter," he said curtly as he put the report down. The door opened revealing Robin as she carried her bags into the office while wearing her hood. "Is it already time for your update?"

"Normally it would be, but Aversa already got ahold of the message before Frederick found it," Robin told him with a sigh. "Though it might be good that she did. She managed to find some information out about the _Black Knight_. Apparently there's a figure in the Tellius lores that matches his description perfectly."

"The Tellius lores?" Chrom repeated while trying to remember. "You mean the tales of the _Radiant Hero_? I've only heard the stories a few times, but are you sure there was a _Black Knight_ in them?"

"Yeah, I've got the tome of them right here," Robin said as she turned to the page in question and handed it to Chrom. "Tharja thinks that it's likely that the armor's enhancements listed in there have worn off which might be good news if whoever it is tries to stand against us."

"And the illustration matches the rumors perfectly," Chrom agreed as he looked through the tome.

"The only problem is how little those rumors have actually spread. If the match to the illustration is really that perfect you think the three kingdoms would be talking about it non-stop… is the _Black Knight_ really that unknown?" the tactician questioned as she removed her hood.

"...Now that you mention it that may actually be a result of the _Radiant Hero's_ story itself," Chrom admitted. "Currently those tales are mostly known by the few nobles and scholars that decide to read them and certain bands of mercenaries… and even then it might not be the right version of the two."

"There are two versions?" Robin asked. "What's the difference between them?"

The Radiant Hero's origin; most of the known lores told around the kingdoms surround Marth, Ephraim, Eliwood, and his son Roy… there's one major difference between the _Radiant Hero_ and the others; they were born of noble blood, he wasn't."

"So some of the stories change that," Robin guessed.

"In more ways than one," Chrom said before looking out the windows. "In the original text he was offered a position of high nobility once the war the was over. He refused and returned to where he started; as a common mercenary. The altered version not only has him born into a noble house, he even married a powerful Empress later into his life and dies as an Emperor… it's just a sad matter of pride really."

"How do you know that the other version of the story was the real one?" Robin asked.

"I was told it a long ago… by someone who I thought was a very wise man," Chrom said with a hint of melancholy in his tone. "But enough about that, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"We yes, but it's not about the reports or the rumors circulating, it's more about us." Robin decided she'd take Aversa's word seriously (most of them at least), and she knew that the first step was addressing the elephant in the room.

"That's probably a good thing to talk about," Chrom agreed as he finally stood from his seat. "So… where to start?"

"How exactly do you feel about it?" Robin decided to ask. "I know things have been happening fast lately, but now that we're settling into normality are you sure you want to be together?"

"Positive," Chrom said with conviction before smirking. "But really, you think what's going on is normal?"

"More normal than when we were in a war," Robin told him as she smiled herself. "But I guess you have a point, it might be some time before things actually start to calm down."

"...And how do you feel about us?" Chrom had to ask. "I know we've been through a lot together and back at the Midmire you supported more than anyone else could have, but what about now?"

"Well I think that either way we're going to be spending a lot of time with each other given our jobs. No matter what happens I'll always want to be your tactician…" Chrom's face seemed to deflate somewhat at that. "But that doesn't mean we can't give love a chance."

"And that's all I want, a chance," Chrom said with a soft smile to Robin. "Well I think we've worked enough on these blasted reports to earn ourselves a break, care to join me for lunch?"

"I'd love to," Robin told him as Chrom made his way over to her. "Maybe we could-"

She was unable to continue her suggestion as the prince gently pressed his lips to hers. Her gently wrapped his arms around her as the two stayed there for a moment, none of the post war matters or emergencies mattering to either of them. Eventually Chrom pulled away, though he seemed to be smiling as he did.

"Decided to take the initiative?" the tactician questioned, though she certainly didn't seem to be annoyed by it.

"I figured it was about time," Chrom admitted as the two left the office while holding each other's hand as they walked. "Let's hope they've got a few meat pies ready in the kitchen."

 _ **Plegian Desert**_

' _If they weren't my target in the first place, I might be annoyed by how many Risen I'm having to deal with_ ,' the enigmatic _Black Knight_ thought to himself as his sword carved through the air and struck through the metal plating of a knight classed Risen and carved it in half. The fell to the sands with a crash before they began to dissolve into shadows that wisped into the _Black Knight's_ gauntlet. One Risen down, countless left.

Many of the remaining Risen rushed forward with weapons and claws drawn as they made to kill the mysterious knight. They were never close to making contact, for the _Black Knight's_ blade was too fast to see. Weapons were destroyed, limbs were severed off the Risens' bodies, and the undead flesh was carved through with ease.

The knight then charged his powers into his sword before unleashing wavelike energy attack that tore through the Risen and destroyed several of them at once. A group of undead spell casters attempted to destroy him with magic, but due to the sword's magic its wielder was able to deflect the magic and sent it back to those who cast it.

A row of Risen arches then unleashed a volley of arrows, but they were unable to even scratch the armor as their weapons clanged uselessly against the dark platting. One arrow was launched at the right angle that it managed to pass through the opening of the helm and struck the head inside. It should have been a lethal attack, but the sword then glowed with yellow lighting that extended and gave the blade a much further reach allow the knight to hack through the distant Risen in a single, mighty stroke. As the final group of Risen fell to the sands and dissolved into the shadows, the _Black Knight_ spat out the arrow he'd caught with his teeth.

"That should do it for this area," said he to no one in particular, for who could he talk to? He replaced his blade in its sheath as the remain shadows were absorbed by his gauntlet. "Let's see… I've covered east, south, and north or Plegia so now it's time for me to move north and eliminated the Risen near Regna Ferox."

With a destination set in his mind, the Black Knight resumed his journey as his cape flapped in the wind behind him. He hadn't traveled far when he noticed the shadows coming from the birds above him. Glancing up, he saw that there were indeed birds circling him, but they were much too small to be vultures.

"They better not take a crap on me; walking in this heavy armor through the desert is already unbearable enough as it is," the enigma said to himself before shaking his head and moving on. The birds were still following him from above, however it seemed like they weren't circling him any more and now followed their own patterns.

The knight continued his journey for the better part of a good fifteen minutes before one of the birds became tired and soared downwards, landing on his plated shoulder. Turning his head towards the creature he saw that the bird was a simple small and black crow. The bird looked at him with a bit of curiosity before peaking once at the plating and let out a _caw!_ in the _Black Knight's_ face.

"Shoo," he said to the bird, but it remained. "Shoo." Slightly more force was used that time as the knight rolled his shoulder, but the bird stayed on. "Shoo!" It wasn't harsh or harmful, but the _Black Knight_ pushed the bird off of him with his gauntleted arm. The bird fluttered in shock for the second, leading the enigma to think he'd won, but then it merely flew over and perched itself on his other shoulder before giving him another _caw!_ Beneath his helm, the _Black Knight_ growled.

"I don't think that's going to get rid of it! You're fighting a lost CAWS! Nyh ha ha ha ha ha!"

The _Black Knight_ quickly turned to the source of the voice and the sudden new appearance. What he found was a silver hair young adult. He was wearing the robes of a Plegian dark mage with the eyes of Grima on his open collar. He appeared to be shorter than the knight and had eyes that appeared to be closed and a smile on his face that somehow seemed both innocent and very creepy. The remained crow from above soared down and landed on his shoulder before having its feather gently pet by the youth.

"These birds are yours then?" the knight questioned. He didn't go for his sword just yet, but he certainly wouldn't avert his eyes from the figure in front of him.

"Nah, but I always seem to have a way with animals especially birds. I dunno maybe they like me because of my shiny hair?" the youth said with that unchanging smile on his face.

"You don't say… What's someone with the Grimleal doing all the way out here?"

"Nya ha ha ha ha! I'm not with the Grimleal," the boy told him. "I'm just a dark mage traveling around the desert. Just cause I wear the clothes doesn't make me part of their MURDER." The youth began snickering, but the _Black Knight_ did not appear to be in a laughing mood. "A murder's another way of saying a group of crow, and the Grimleal are guys that-"

"I get it, believe me," the knight said darkly before scoffing a continuing to walk on his way with the crow still on his shoulder. "I'm wasting my time here."

"You sure about that? Most of the commoners of the kingdom know to address people that look like me as _Dark Mages_ first and _Grimleal_ second if they have that little dark side to them…" the youth gave a smile. "You're not from around here are you?"

"Does it matter? I won't be staying long," the person said as they continued to travel north.

"Gonna go eliminate some Risen?" the mage said before he followed behind. "Sounds like fun! Let me join in!"

"No."

"C'mon! Pretty please?"

"No."

"Super pretty please?"

"NO."

"Super pretty please with gore and beating internal organs on top?"

"...Just who the hell are you?"

"Oh, so now we're giving out names? Call me Henry! That's H-E-N-"

"I know how to spell! Geez…"

"What's your name?"

The _Black Knight_ didn't answer. He'd hoped that if he said nothing that Henry would eventually stop his unceasing questioning and leave him alone. But then he caught whiff of a fowl smell. Immediately he turned his head to the crow that was resting on his shoulder and barely caught it flying away before noticing the _stain_ it had left on the shoulder.

"Shit…" he said aloud, but immediately regretted it.

"Your name's Shit?" Henry said on cue. "I've heard about people giving someone a crappy name, but that takes the cake! Nya ha ha ha ha ha!"

The crow that had left a mark on the knight's shoulder flew over to Henry's open one and began a chorus of cawing with the other bird that somehow seemed like laughter. The black armored enigma groaned as he continued walking with his new acquired traveling companion, fighting the constant urge to go for his sword to get some peace and quiet.

 _ **Author's Note:**_ **Don't Own Anything. Moving on. (Remember to post Harem ideas)**

 **So fan favorite Henry's now part of the mix and events are moving right along. There's not going to be much of an Omake this time around… but I've got a bit of something else instead.**

Awakening Profile Info

Ragna

Found by Chrom in the SouthTown area, he joined the Shepherds and has since become one of its most valued members. He constantly trains to grow ever stronger despite beating large armies single handedly. Still something of a mystery, despite already revealing some of his past.

The least likely to ever get any sleep.

Born on March 3rd

In Game Quotes

Support 1: Are you really sure you're gonna need me?

Support 2: This feels like overkill.

Supported Victory: Nice follow up.

Critical/Skill 1: I'll smash you (launches attack) to pieces!

Critical/Skill 2: Darkness Consume You!

Support Tiles 1 (a): You got a special dream or desire? …I'm JUST asking!

Support Tiles 1 (b): I'm making sure that everyone lives through this, and that won't be a dream.

Support Tiles 2 (a): Oi, you want to team up sometime? It might help us both out.

Support Tiles 2 (b): If you want, but if I see a problem elsewhere I might split… just saying.

Support Tiles 3 (a): I'm trying to find a hobby, what do you do when there's time to kill?

Support Tiles 3 (b): During the day I train, get yelled at by Chrom, train, don't get any sleep, train, get yelled at by Chrom for not sleeping, and then train… and sometimes cook.

(b with Chrom): I um, *ahem* cook! Yeah, I do that a lot. And read! Also very important!

Exp Gain: I offed some Risen when no one was looking… again.

Weapon Gain: Chrom hasn't find out about last night's training session. Let's keep it that way.

Item Find: Wonder who keeps leaving this stuff around...

Stat Boost: I guess getting a couple of hours of sleep is better than none.

Barracks: Kind of peaceful here, maybe I can finally read that book I've been meaning to get to.

Level Up (0-1): Damn… Well, figures.

Level Up (2-3): Not bad I guess… but let's try for more.

Level Up (4-5): All right! All those countless sleepless nights are paying off!

Level Up (6+): Even with all of the shit I've been through, I can still grow as a fighter and as a man.

Level Up (Max): It guess this is my limit… for now.

Class Change (From Grim Reaper Class): Keep my coat safe; I'll be wearing it again soon enough.

Class Change (To Grim Reaper Class): There better not be one tear on his thing… or else.

 _ **Just to set your minds at ease, I am NOT running out of ideas for the Omakes already. I just felt like addressing this now. I know this chapter had less quality than usual, but this is what happens when I have a head cold and a bad headache to follow it with.**_

 _ **Review Responses:**_

Zappy Caboose: Kinda sounded like that huh? No, that's not what happened, but nice to see another Berserk fan.

Warrior of the Six Blades: Thanks for another lengthy review, good to hear it.

Greyjedi449t & Selias: Thanks, I try.

Guest (1): Tombstone? ...Is now bad time to mention that golden statue Chrom had made.

MechaDragon69: Heh, would be interesting.

VirusChris: Just say your part in the survey.

PersonaQeminod1: May take some time.

Ben 10.000: No, just doesn't fell like.

Paladin9800: A fellow Tellius player? Glad to see someone follows.

ArmantusCumPinnae: You seem to be adamant on that…

Marconator360: And another sweet moment here.

Leekz01: Submit you opinion in the survey!

Thunder Dragon: I really think you should just try getting an account. If it doesn't work with you current email, sign up on the sight.

Kalakuai: We'll see what fate chooses in the marriage department. And the BB characters will get their say in the Fates series.

EternalCobra34: If Ragna tried to become a womanizer… I don't want to think about what could happen (SO I MIGHT JUST WRITE ABOUT IT LATER IN A GAG REEL!)

Mugen7: Kagura would have something to say? I wonder if Ragna would bother defending that title or if he'd just give Kagura the armor and tell him to piss off. Anyways yes, Ragna needz hugz.

Adv: Thank you, thank you.

Dread Alpha Prime: The Black Knight.

ZetaCommand: Aw, shucks.

Nignog: SPOILERS… But I already played the game. His fate in the final game is still a bit unclear now, but I still doubt that's the last we've seen of him.

Gundam-Knight-Chris: Be patient.

Null: *Heh* Good question.

BloodedgetheReaper2113: Yes.

Dreap Grim Reaper: Happy Birthday to the little Gothic Loli. Now go give Rags a hug!

Harem Master123: Sorry, but that's my job now.

Guest 42: Toxic comment? Well let's just go in here and see what he… Heh, heheheheheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!**  
I see no reason for concern.

 _ **Until next time Y'all. Be sure to leave your Harem idea in the reviews!**_

 _ **Ciao!**_


	25. Further Developments

_**Chapter XXV: Further Developments**_

"The _Black Knight_... A rising legend that became famous overnight. It says he can bring down small armies with little difficulty and can even stand up to a hoard of those Risen monsters. It looks like someone's finally making some of our nobility squirm in their high seats."

A small gathering of villagers were standing in front of their town's bulletin board which gave messages and other information from the surrounding regions of the Plegian kingdom. The poster that had gathered their attention was none other than the picture of the _Black Knight_ , apparently illustrated based on what they'd gathered in the reports (it was surprisingly accurate). The city on the northwestern end of the kingdom had been barely missed when Chrom and the Shepherds had made their way to the capital in their quest to save the Exalt. It wasn't the largest of cities, but it had been vital in trading with Regna Ferox before relations had turned aggressive.

"Any news about the _Sacred Wings_?" an illiterate villager asked from the crowd.

"Not anywhere here, but I doubt that they're just sitting on their asses like the high and mighty nobles are," the first villager said. "At least someone's trying to look out for the rest of us…"

As the rest of the villagers looked to the bulletin board, they were too preoccupied to notice the young silver haired dark mage walk behind them as he carried a few bags of food that he'd grabbed from the villages market. Two black crows were perched on his shoulders, letting out the occasional caw. The youth quickly made his way out of the village and traveled a short distance through the sands before he found his other traveling companion.

"I'm back with the food!" Henry said happily as the crows cawed at the traveler; their way of saying hello… or annoying the hell out of him. "Let's dig in Shi-"

"If you don't want a one-ticket to hell you won't call me that name again," the Black Knight growled beneath his helm where he sat on the sandy ground.

"Awwwww…" Henry whined, though the fact that he was still smiling made it hard for the enigmatic knight to think that he was really complaining. "So what should I call you?"

"Think of something, as long as it's better than that last name."

"I get to choose? Sweet! Can I call you Crow?" Henry asked rather giddily even for his standards.

"No."

"Vulture?"

"Worse."

"Black?"

"That would cause problems…"

"Knight then?"

"...It's a start," the enigma finally conceded.

"Okay then Knight, I saw a picture of you on the town bulletin board."

"A picture of me… was it a bounty poster?" the knight questioned darkly as he grabbed a loaf of bread and started tearing it to little pieces.

"Think it's more of a search poster for info on you big guy," Henry said as he feed small bits of meat to his crows. "Let's see… you're dark and moody, you don't like my birds, you never take your armor off, and you're a man of very few words… How much do you think I can get for that?"

"A kick to the ass," Knight responded gruffly as he brought the small pieces of bread he'd torn. It was annoying to eat this way, but at least he wouldn't give the dark mage satisfaction in seeing his face.

"Speaking of money, how do you have so much on you?" the dark mage asked as he looked down to the money bag on his belt that the _Black Knight_ had given him. "Do people pay you for wiping out the Risen?"

"No, if I'm lucky I can wipe the monster's out before they get town. Some of the Risen actually got coin on them so I take that."

"And how do you spend it?" Henry asked, ever the curious child.

"...Honestly I haven't really really had a need to," the _Black Knight_ admitted. "It's either I leave it in the sand or I take it with me."

"So zombie hunting _does_ pay! Sweet!" Henry said with enthusiasm. Though it was obvious he couldn't see it, the _Black Knight_ rolled his eyes beneath his helm. "Hey Knight, can you always tell if there's a group nearby? The townspeople don't seemed to be that worried about an attack and I don't think there's any sign of the Risen."

"That's what makes these attacks dangerous," the _Black Knight_ said as he ate another piece of his bread. "I don't sense any nearby now, but it's the Risen you don't see coming that do the most damage."

"But you see them, you probably know which town the Risen are going to strike before anyone else in the kingdom," the dark mage said. His face was the same, but his tone made the man under the knight's armor feel like he was being judged.

"What're you getting at?" he demanded in a harsh tone.

"Oh, scary," Henry mocked. "Just saying you seem to know a lot more about these Risen's attack patterns, but you're not doing your part to let anyone know… Care to expand?"

' _...Despite acting like a kid, he's actually managed to piece that together? Just who the hell is this guy?_ ' "...I don't know where they're going to show up, I only know when they're close by and how to kill 'em. It's a… feeling I get."

"Oh, so you can't see the future then," Henry said with with a less eager complexion. "Well that's kind of disappointing, I was hoping you could tell me if I ever got my true desire."

" _You_ have a desire?" the mysterious swordsman repeated with doubt. "What on earth could someone like you possibly dream of?"

"Simple! I want to die bloody and gruesome, but painless death!" Henry said ecstatically.

"Somehow that surprises me less than it should," the knight groaned. After a short time the two had finished eating, and the _Black Knight_ rose and began walking off.

"Hey, where're you going Knight?" Henry asked as he brushed himself off and hurriedly rose to his feet.

"This town seems to be safe enough, no need for me to waste my time here," the _Black Knight_ told him as his cape flapped in the wind behind him.

"And you're trying to leave without me?" Henry asked, feeling a little hurt as he followed closely behind.

"...I knew I wasn't going to be that lucky."

"Nope! Nya ha ha!" Henry said with mocking laughter as the birds on his shoulder cawed at the groaning knight.

 _Ylisse Castle -Training Grounds-_

Lon'qu narrow his eyes as he harshly focused on the training dummy in front of him, laxly holding a curved training sword to his side. When he finally decided he'd attack the was no hesitation, no tensing, no deep breath, he simply acted and drove his training sword through the air managing to strike the target trice with well aimed blows to the hip, shoulder, and chest. To any untrained ear it might've sounded like a single strike, but Lon'qu could easily tell where the gaps were in his rhythmic attacks were.

"Gregor is beginning to wonder if swordsman has vendetta against training dummies," the mercenary said as he entered the field behind Lon'qu. The Feroxi sword wielder said nothing as he turned to face the new arrival. "Why is Lon'qu glaring at Gregor so?"

"It's how I normally look," Lon'qu told him passively. "And if you feel so sorry for these mannequins feel free to take their place. I've been hoping for a duel between the two of us for a while now, I want to see just what the man who fought Basilio to a drawl is capable of."

"Gregor is sorry to disappoint young swordsman, but Gregor only fights when gold is being offered. Must maintain reputation as a swell sword, even with Shepherds."

"I figured you'd say as much," Lon'qu acknowledged. "But I'm afraid I wouldn't have money to spend on every fight. Suppose I only pay you if I lose? Would you consider that?"

"Oh, Lon'qu speaks a large game," Gregor said as he gave a firm smile. "Over confident behavior is warrior's own undoing, but Gregor is feeling very generous. First lesson will be for free, regardless of Gregor winning."

"Now who's talking the large game?" Lon'qu asked as the closest thing to a smirk came to his lips while his dueling opponent grabbed his own practice sword. "At your ready…"

"Agreed," Gregor said before the smallest movement was seen between the two. "Gregor wins."

"Ugh!" Lon'qu said as he looked at the practice sword being held right at his neck.

"Lon'qu should be saving gold, Gregor's lesson are not cheap!" the mercenary said with a somewhat gleeful smile, one that was strangely genuine and not at all mocking.

"Hmph, are you really so sure that you've won?" Lon'qu asked with as he glanced downward. His own blade was pointed right in front of Gregor's heart. Perhaps not as threatening as Gregor's sword would've been, but enough to consider the second-long duel a draw.

"Not half bad," the mercenary complimented as the two withdrew their swords. "Gregor was sure that Lon'qu had not earned such speed yet."

"Under other circumstances I'd still be trying to get to this level, but after fighting a red coated swordsman I've become stronger," Lon'qu admitted.

"Lon'qu fought scary man?" Gregor asked, referring to their deceased comrade. "Did he help to improving your swordplay?"

"He did, even if it was a single fight," Lon'qu said as he grit his teeth. "Even if I have my own reason, I'll never stop improving my skills to honor the memories of my fallen friends. They stood with me in their lives, now it's my time to focus on returning their favor."

"Gregor does not think someone should be focusing on the dead, but then again what does Gregor know?" the mercenary asked with a jolly chuckle. "Very well, Gregor has seen Lon'qu's inner lion. Gregor will spar for cheaper now!"

"Very well," Lon'qu said as he grabbed a second practice sword off of the equipment rack to duel wield. "Come and fight me at your full! I shall not fall easily!"

"Gregor is on job!" the mercenary yelled as the two warriors charged each other.

Across the training field, two more of the Shepherds were also locked in their training, Donnel was having less luck with Frederick than Lon'qu was having with Gregor. The Great Knight was fighting the farming boy on foot and though he no longer had the mobility of a mounted warrior that wasn't stopping him from easily disarming or striking his new student.

"You tensed your arms too tightly," Frederick observed. "If you do that right before you swing your sword you'll lose accuracy and range. If you don't remain calm and let the attack flow smoothly you'll never hit your opponent."

"I know, I know," Donnel tried to say as he barely blocked Frederick's next sword swing. The swing afterwards was aimed at his head and the one after that was his thigh. All throughout the onslaught of Frederick's attack Donnel tried his hardest to look for an opening in his tutor's defence, but he couldn't find one.

"You're taking too long to attack me," Frederick told the farm boy as the two entered a bladelock. "If you were in the middle of a battle right now the enemy would have surrounded you and cut you off from the enemy. Pick a moment and follow through on it."

"Pick a moment? How will I know it's tha right one? Donnel asked before grunting as Frederick pushed him back.

"Because after you pick it you'll land a direct hit," Frederick said without a single hint of humor in his voice. Taking his words to heart after guarding against attack Donnel immediately reposted, barely managing to nick his opponent's armor. "You're making progress."

"If ya say so, it's not easy for me ta find my way around a sword," the farm boy told him. "Folks always said I was meant for farmin', maybe they were right."

"Nonsense, if I didn't know better I'd say you were a member of your village's militia," Frederick encouraged. "Of course if you wish to fight in the Shepherd's you've still a way to go, I'd suggest you continue to keep training seriously."

"Don't worry, I'm always takin' it seriously," Donnel assured him.

"Good, then I suppose it's time we moved on to your fitness training," Frederick said with his famous 'executioners smile.' Donnel's complexion immediately turned a couple of shades paler. "Let's see, where to begin? Perhaps we'll take a brisk ten laps around Ylisstol just to get our muscles limber.

"T-ten laps!?" the poor trainee stuttered as he wondered if Frederick was trying to kill him.

"Hmm… Hearing you say it makes me think that we need some extra challenge, perhaps some weighted training armor? You do want to be serious when you run, don't you?"

"Ma… I promised ta make it home strong enough to protect tha village… but I'm not sure if I'm gonna be in one piece…" Donnel whimpered as Frederick pondered the possibilities of the day's training.

 _ **Ylisse Castle Gardens**_

Mustafa let out a soft and content sigh as he sat crossed legged in the castle's garden. Now that the war had ended and his injuries from fighting Chrom had long since healed, the former Plegian general had taken to living in a small house just outside the capital city. When he and his family had finally made it out of the castle he'd feared the worst, but it turned out that he'd gotten a reputation since the last Crusade, getting the title of ' _The Warrior Pacifist_.' This made things easier for him and he'd soon gotten a job working as a lumberman for the time being.

Normally he wasn't one to go to castles and manors even during his days as a general, but Emmeryn had always said that the castle gardens would always be open to the public during the day and his wife always enjoyed walking here with their son. The guards understood that as long as Mustafa didn't cause trouble for them there was absolutely no reason for them to bother him.

"I say, is that barbarian actually sitting in the castle gardens? It's no wonder the flowers are looking worse by the day if HE'S dropping by."

The noblemen, however, never got the memo.

"I can't believe our Lady Exalt is actually allowing that _thing_ inside our castle, her ladyship is far too kind for her own good." Mufasa didn't bother turning to address the men speaking; if it was only a few people that hated him then why should he bother with them? "Speaking of people where they shouldn't belong, have you heard the rumors surrounding the prince?"

"Rumors? Oh do tell," one of the pompous aristocrats said as the two nobles continued to walk through the garden.

"I hear that he's finally found a lady to chase after in the hopes of seducing; apparently he's now looking to his tactician to finally satisfy his urges."

"He's looking to a common girl with little title and no wealth or land behind her!? Is he mad!? He's the prince of Ylisse not some mayor's son! Any of my three daughters would make a bride dozens of times more suitable for the boy!"

"That's just the rumors that I've been hearing, but it could be nothing! Perhaps he's just readying her to become a mistress? You remember how things were with the former Duke of _Graindor_? The bedder of a dozen women?"

' _Are these supposed to be the noble men of Ylisse? They don't seem very noble,_ ' Mustafa thought to himself as he continued to meditate. ' _Then again, they don't differ much from some of the nobility back in my kingdom…_ '

"Still, these commoners… they're getting far too comfortable here, something needs to be done about it…"

"Something is going to be done with it, starting now," the nobleman said as Mustafa heard his footsteps come closer. "You. Get out."

"I have my rights to be here, the same as anyone else," Mustafa said. He didn't open his eyes, nor did he move.

"The city of Ylisse is still repairing itself from the disarray that you monsters caused last time and here you are taking advantage of the kindness we've given you by letting your family into the kingdom."

"Who do you think was the one gathering lumber and building the outer farms that had been destroyed?" Mustafa question rhetorically. "Perhaps if either of you had actually spent time amongst your people instead of vainly attempting to influence your Exalt you'd understand the real face of the world."

"Why you-!" the nobleman shouted as his hand went for his saber.

"Is there a problem?" Mustafa recognized that voice and it was clear that the two nobles in front of him did as well. Finally allowing him to look he noticed a scarlet haired pegasus rider who'd spoken accompanied by a pink haired woman in white approaching the three. While the pegasus rider was missing her spear, the swordswoman seemed to have her katana sheathed at her side.

"Lady Cordelia…" the noble greeted as he took his hand away from his saber. "I was insisting this man be removed from the gardens and he was being rather uncooperative."

"And why do you insist on removing him? From what I see Mufasa's caused the least trouble here," Cordelia told him as she cast a steely glare at the noblemen.

"Come now, you really want to allow his kind into the royal gardens?" the other nobleman demanded. "First the townspeople are given privilege to enter, then commoners, and now former enemies of war! Next thing you know we'll have filthy gypsies making camp on our front door."

"Filthy?" Olivia repeated as her eyes went into a deep scowl aimed at the two men. Back in her days as a traveling dancer she'd traveled with a caravan of gypsies, in fact she herself could've easily been considered a former gypsy.

"Well my dears, I'd like to stay and see justice dealt but I'm afraid I have a meeting to attend to. Be good little knights and get him out of here would you?" And with that the two men of 'nobility' left the gardens, laughing at the mockery they thought they'd caused.

"...You didn't have to step in," Mustafa finally said from where he was seated. "I doubt that they'd have done anything heinous."

"They already have with the way they've been speaking lately," Olivia said with ire. "How the word 'noble' can apply to men like them is beyond me."

"Aye, but they're not all bad. I remember meeting more than a few nobles back in Plegia who I was proud to have known, many of whom spoke out against and worked to end the old war… in fact it was thanks to Tharja's grandmother Anuket that I was able to meet my wife. She was once a maid in service to House Ultaras and we met-"

"Mustafa, are you trying to retell your fable of sweeping me off my feet and carrying me off into a romantic life of wedlock?" Kellie, Mustafa's wife, said as she approached with their child Edward. Kellie's hair was as dark as a raven and tied back into a ponytail and her skin was about the same shade as Mustafa's. Edward was six years old and was a gentle soul much like his father. He was a typically jolly fellow and was never missing a smile on his face. "Sorry if my husband was boring you, he does love to tell his stories. Part of our wedding vows was he'd stop telling me ' _The Drake's Saga_ ' for the fiftieth time."

"Dear…" Mufasa groaned while Cordelia and Olivia both gave short chuckles.

"It's not a worry Kellie, Mustafa hasn't started any of those stories yet," Cordelia assured her as Edward stood patiently next to his mother. "We were just making sure those nobles know that your family was brought here on Lady Emmeryn's invitation."

"Something we'll always be thankful to the Exalt for," Killie told them. "I'll admit when my husband's men came running to our house and told me that he'd been taken north I thought I'd lost him, but now we've been relocated and life in Ylisse isn't bad; certainly less humid than in the desert."

"And how are the people treating you?" Cordelia asked.

"Everyone's really nice to us!" Edward said with a large smile. "They're always trying to make sure we're doing okay and all of the kids let me play with them all of the time!"

"It's nice and peaceful," Mustafa said before he grimaced. "Well… there is one person…"

 _Le Flashback_

 _It had been early in the morning and Mustafa was sitting at the table drinking coffee before he was about to head out to work. There was a loud knock at the door, causing the former General to narrow his eyes. Slowly getting up, he headed over to the door as the person outside continued to knock. He opened it to find a man standing outside with blonde hair clad in leather._

" _So you're the guy that managed to almost beat Chrom…" the stranger said to him as his own eyes were narrowed._

" _Aye, and I think I remember you… You were with us at the Midmire, weren't you?"_

" _Yeah, I was there… And I've been meaning to do this for a while…" Mustafa was about to call out for his wife and kid, to worriedly tell them to run… but the man then immediately went to a kneeling position at his feet. "SHOW TEACH HOW TO USE AN AXE LIKE THAT!"_

 _...Understandably, Mustafa was speechless._

"So Vaike's been begging you for lessons," Cordelia summarized. "Is that why he's been missing during training lately?"

"Tis likely," the general told the two. "I tried to turn him down, but he's a persistent one… It was either give in to his demands or continue to be hounded by the man. Eventually he even started following me to work and asking for lessons their while he helped me… So I gave him his lessons on the condition he'd continue to help us with the repairs."

"No wonder he's been getting better lately, last time I saw him duel Chrom he almost had him," Cordelia said. "Sorry to have Vaike trouble you though, he's always sort of been like that."

"I don't mind, he's got a good heart and he's always a laugh for Edward to be around," Mustafa assured. "At any rate, I believe we'll be going."

"I need to go home and get dinner started for these two," Kellie told the Cordelia and Olivia. "Naga knows I didn't marry Mustafa for his cooking."

"Dear…" the former General groaned.

"Oh, hush you! You know it's true," Kellie told him with a smirk. "Remember for our anniversary last year where you tried to make me breakfast in bed? What happened to our house?"

"I'm don't want to say it."

"My dad almost burned it down and I had to help him put it out," Edward told them, Mustafa shook his head as he began to leave with his wife. "Bye miss Cordelia, bye miss Olivia."

"Take care of yourselves," Olivia called as the family walked away. "They seem happy."

"Yeah, I'm glad to see that they've still doing well," Cordelia said. "With tensions high after the war I was worried that someone would in town would do something drastic."

"Well he has been seen a lot around the castle and he's occasionally with someone in the Shepherds, that's probably helped him," Olivia said as she and the Pegasus rider continued to walk through the gardens.

Deciding she'd do another take, the swordswoman glanced back and looked to the man in question as he continued to depart with his family. The former general had lifted his son so that he was riding on his father's shoulder as they walked while Mustafa and Kellie discussed plans for dinner that night. Cordelia noticed where Olivia was looking and got the message and smirked.

"They make a cute family, don't they?" Olivia nodded her head in agreement. "So… thinking about starting one yourself?"

"N-No!" the young dancer immediately denied as her face turned deep crimson.

"Huh, so there's that cute blush that Emmeryn told me about," Cordelia said as she observed the dancer''s face closely. "You know I'd bet the idea of marrying someone as cute as you would make any man happy."

"S-stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Olivia yelled in protest, the dancer blushing far more than she had in recent memory. At Cordelia's friendly laughter she scowled slightly "...Then what about you, are you looking to start a family?"

"D-don't be silly! I'm not ready to commit to something like that yet!" Cordelia shouted in her defense as her face's colors matched that of her hair. "Why are you asking me anyways?"

"Well you asked me in the first place, so fair's fair," Olivia reminded as the girls made their way out of the garden. "Besides, is there anyone else here to ask?"

"No, I guess there isn't," Cordelia admitted.

"...I'm here," Kellam whined as he sat in the garden barely five feet from where Olivia and Cordelia had their conversation. Neither of the girls seemed to have noticed him and he'd been calling out to them and Mustafa since they'd arrived. "I miss Ragna; he was the only one that could actually see me…"

 _ **Meanwhile -Northern Plegia-**_

Once more a lone wander in a hooded cloak traveled the endless sands of the Plegian desert. Unlike the wander previous, this one's cloak was well made and weaved out of a lovey light pink silk. They also had a much clearer purpose than the one before, tireless continuing their journey even through the long nights… though even such determination would not stop the shadowy beasts that stalked the traveler from behind.

When the _Risen_ slowly began to close in the traveler came to a glace and gave a cautious glance around. It was a cloudless day and people would be able to see over the dune for miles if they were at the right elevation. Not the ideal place to deal with the Risen, but it would have to work. She was about about to remove her pink traveling coat right before she heard a pained hiss come from behind her as one of the risen was impaled through the back of the head with a wide blade. The remaining Risen let out feral snarls as they turned to face the newcomer with pure savagery.

"Unfortunately for you I'm not one for honor either," the _Black Knight_ told the beast as he roughly yanked his weapon out of the Risen's head. It fell forward and burst into dark shadows the moment it touched ground and the shadow's were absorbed into the knight's right arm.

" _ **ELFIRE!**_ **"** came Henry's shout as his spell soared through the air before it impacted an Archer's chest and exploded, completely obliterating his target. An axe wielder say the newcomer and immediately rushed toward him only to attacked by two crows that pecked at its face. The beast snarled as it tried to shoo the crows away, leaving it vulnerable. "Aw, thanks you guys! _**Ruin!**_ **"** Dark tendrils emerged from the ground and stuck the Risen through and destroyed it.

"Having fun?" the _Black Knight_ questioned before he braced his Armor Slayer and unleashed a cleaving strike through several Risen.

"Blasting monsters into little tiny bits? How could I not!? Nya ha ha ha!" the dark mage cackled before narrowly dodging the lance thrust from a soldier type Risen. Henry then charge _Elfire_ into his hand before blasting the monster in the chest at point blank range. "Aren't you?"

"Hard to say no," the _Black Knight_ admitted, smirking somewhat underneath his helm. He then sent out a massive blade on wind the struck many Risen through and slayed them instantly. The remaining two Risen charged him in a final desperate rush, but a single slash from the enigmatic warrior was enough to rip them both to pieces.

"That was a bit too quick for my taste," Henry said with a nonchalant shrug as he turned to face the traveler who'd yet to move. "Hey! You're okay now, the monsters are gone!"

"They would've been fine without us," the knight told him as he seethed his sword and waited for the shadows to be absorbed into his arm. "Risen like these aren't a match for what that one's capable of."

"That so?" Henry questioned. "Well then why'd you try to step in big guy?"

"...You'd have whined if I hadn't," the knight told his companion, who merely chuckled. As the last of the Risen's shadows became absorbed into his right arm, the knight was about to leave for his next location, but noticed the traveler approaching him. "Mind telling us what you're doing out here?"

"I'm on a rather important errand," the person under the hood told them coolly, the tone revealing the travel to be a woman. "Thank you for assisting me, it might have proven… _problematic_ had I needed to face those monsters myself."

"Aw shucks, it was nothing," Henry said happily. "My name's Henry, a travelling dark mage out to see all the world's conflicts and cause more of them! And these are my friends Nathan and Morty." The crows then cawed something of a greeting.

"You named them…" the armoured enigma noted though another groan. "So you're keeping them?"

"Yep! And I call the dark and moody one here is Knight; he's really shy, especially around girls."

"You've never seen me around girls!" the _Black Knight_ shouted in his frustration.

"Not until now, so now you're on the Henry watch. Nya ha ha ha!" the dark mage cackled, further annoying his traveling companion.

"Well it's very nice to meet all of you, please call me Tiki," the woman told the two pleasantly. "I'd hate to ask any more from either of you, but could I have your help in getting to Ylisstol?"

"Ylisstol? If you're trying to get there you're on the wrong side of the continent," Henry told her. "Where are you from anyways?"

"Across the seas," Tiki told them. "It was difficult enough just to get this far, but now I need to make my way in order to convey a message to the Exalt."

"That sounds really important, but also reeeeally suspicious," the young dark mage told Tiki playfully. "So what do you think we should do Knight?"

"You're asking me?" Knight asked in mild surprise.

"Hey, you're the guy with the things to do, the places to go, and the people to avoid, I'm just following you to keep you sane," Henry told him.

"You're terrible at your job then." The enigma thought it over for a time before finally relenting. "Fine, but I'm only taking you as far as the border. You'll have to manage the rest of the road from there… Manakete."

"Y-You know?" Tiki asked in evident shook from beneath her hood.

"I've encountered your kind before so I know what to look for," was Knight's ominous response. "We'll head north and try to get through Regna Ferox first; with things as bad as they are, trying to get through the Eastern border is just going to be a pain to deal with."

"A-as you say," the young woman nervously agreed as she tried to get a better look at her new guide. As she gazed at the _Black Knight_ trying to understand him and gazed back, she was able to see under the cracks of the helmet an eye of emerald and an eye of crimson. Staring into them she saw a sudden flash of an image of a demonic horned head made darkness and death. Tiki's gave a surprised gasp before she took a step back in shook.

"What's wrong now?" the _Black Knight_ questioned at her distress.

"Pretty sure you're just scaring her big guy," Henry guessed. "Don't worry about Knight Tiki, he's probably a real softy under all of that black armor."

"Keep telling yourself that," Knight muttered as he began walking off to lead his new group northward.

' _What is he?_ ' Tiki thought with worry as she followed behind the two (four if you count Henry's crows). ' _He has a darkness in him, one pulsing through his very being… Is he a catalyst for Grima's revival? But if he was, why wouldn't he try to kill me now? No matter, I need to keep my eye on him…_ '

 _ **Author's Note: Don't Own Anything**_

 _ ***Important* First, with Tiki now joining the party I'll allow her to be included if you have any desire to add her to any of the Harem add-ins later. I know I said last chapter that she wouldn't be included, but I didn't know I'd be writing her in.**_

 _ **Okay, not my best chapter, but I had to get this out eventually. I'll be honest, I had to completely scrape and then rewrite this thing three times before coming to this for a conclusion… Filler's getting harder to write for, but I'll make it work , but no Omake or review responses this time. I've had on and off head colds that've been killing me these past few weeks and I think it's starting to affect my writing.**_

 _ **I promise I'll give you guys a more concrete chapter next time, but next up is the long awaited Azure Guilt chapter. Until next time everyone!**_

 _ **Ciao!**_


	26. The Great Northern Wall

_**Chapter XXVI: The Great Northern Wall**_

The trio of Henry, Tiki, and the _Black Knight_ continued their journey into Regna Ferox after having just taken out another group of Risen. Ever since they'd accepted the Manakete into their group the _Risen_ had been coming after the three relentlessly. This did not concern the _Black Knight_ whose main goal was still to destroy any _Risen_ that he came across, if fact this made things easier if he didn't need to hunt the creatures down himself… that and it kept the bloodthirsty dark mage satisfied for a time.

As the three had traveled, Tiki herself did not engage in the conflicts with the Risen. She was not incapable of defending herself entirely, even at present, but she allowed her travelling companions to fight on her behalf. This gave her time to study the enigmatic _Black Knight_ ; even if his actions told her her that he was no enemy of hers she still couldn't ignore the feeling of darkness that had been present when she'd barely peered through the helmets gaps. All she could gain was that he was a powerful warrior that fought with an unconventional style that she had never seen put to use, despite her long centuries of seeing other warriors in battle.

"It's starting to get cold," Henry said mildly as the group stopped for a break. "We're still in the desert, but I think it's safe to say that it won't be long before we start seeing snow."

"Meaning we're almost to the Longfort," the _Black Knight_ noted as he looked into the sky and saw that it was only midafternoon. "We should call it a day here then; this might be our last chance to sleep anywhere that isn't covered in snow." He turned his helm to face Tiki, who didn't seem to shudder under his gaze. "That a problem?"

"So long as we make it to Ylisstol safely I'll leave the details of the journey to you," the manakete told him. "Though what do you intend to do when we reach the border? I doubt the troops there won't let us simply pass by if we're traveling from Plegia."

"Leave that to me, I happen to know how to handle Feroxi warriors better than most," he assured her. "Henry, how much food do we have left?"

"Enough to get us through the night at least," Henry told him as he looked at the group's rations bag. "I don't think there are any towns nearby so we'll have to make a stop at one of the villages after we pass the border or do some hunting… just don't kill any wolves or crows, kay?"

"If you insist," Knight told him as he sat in the sand.

"Do you two often travel like this?" Tiki asked, deciding to engage in some friendly conversation to know her two traveling companions better.

"Nya ha ha! For the few days that I've known him!" their dark mage cackled. "But yeah, _Knight_ sticks to the wilderness and never heads into a town if he doesn't need to. In fact, he even decided to hide himself when a merchant's caravan was passing by. Really secretive this one."

"Unlike you who can only give me a few minutes of silence at best," the _Black Knight_ grumbled. "This idiot just came out of nowhere and refused to leave me alone 'cause he wanted to slaughter some _Risen_."

"I just didn't want to let you have all the fun big guy!" Henry laughed as his crows cawed at the armored enigma.

"...Let's just eat," the knight grunted. "I'll take the first shift tonight, I need the both of you rested in case things go wrong tomorrow."

"Are you expecting them to?" Tiki had to ask.

"...Let's just say with my type of luck I wouldn't be surprised," he admitted, further intriguing Tiki on the mysteries of her guide. "By the way kid, you're going to have to say goodbye to those crows of yours soon. I don't think they'll do that well in the snow."

"I figured," Henry said, though he actually seemed to be a little sad. "Ah well, I'll see them again soon, CAWS-"

"Please don't…"

"Birds of a feather flock forever! Nya ha ha!" At Henry's joking and the _Black Knight's_ groan, Tiki left out the smallest of giggles. She'd forgotten what it was like to travel with a group of people like this. It brought her back to the days she'd spent with the hero king.

 _ **Meanwhile Plegia**_

"Lissa, would you please take your nose out of that book for just a moment?" Maribelle asked the princess and her best friend.

The two were currently enjoying a small tea party with just the two of them, something that hadn't happened in quite some time. With the war finally over Maribelle had thought this would be a good opportunity for the two friends to catch up with each other, but responsibilities to helping her father and rebuilding the damages caused by the war had taken up a large portion of the time. She'd finally found a good time to take a break, but had discovered Lissa nose deep the same book she was reading now.

"Sorry Maribelle," the princess told her friend sheepishly. "I guess I've just been focusing on finishing this a lot lately."

"I can clearly see that, but I believe that there's a better time and a better place to read a story," Maribelle told her friend. "What's makes that book of yours so interesting anyways?"

"W-well," Lissa began nervously as her mind began to race. "I-It's just a really really interesting book, there's a lot of… of action and-!"

"Lissa, if you don't wish to tell me I won't ask, but you can stop acting like I've caught in the act of something heinous… unless it's that _Make Him Fall For You In A Fortnight_ , then I demand to know who saw fit to give you such a book."

"It's nothing like that," Lissa said with a blush as she remembered seeing Cordelia telling Elphelt about the book and letting the runaway bride borrow it. "It's actually a spell tome…"

"A spell tome, as in attack magic?" the young noble questioned her friend. "I may not think it's necessary since we are at peace, but as long as it can be used to ensure your safety I'll support your efforts."

"Really?" Lissa asked with a smile. "Well that's a relief to hear!"

"Honestly Lissa, why on earth would I have a problem with you learning magic from Robin?"

"Well… I'm not learning from Robin," the princess admitted nervously. "I'm actually learning from… Aversa."

"...I see," Maribelle said eventually. Though Aversa had joined the Shepherd's some time ago, she had yet to really _connect_ with any of their members. That stood especially true for Maribelle given their history, anytime the two had seen each other, they normally reached silent agreement to walk the other way to not get close to the other. "So… how are your lessons then?"

"I think they're going pretty good, I'm starting to get the hang of a basic wind spell," Lissa told her. "I kinda wanted to try Dark magic, but she kept telling me that I wouldn't have the aptitude for it."

' _She's at least denying her training in the darker arts_ ,' Maribelle thought, Aversa's refusal giving her a little comfort. "Were you planning on seeing her for more lessons after this?"

"Yeah, I was," Lissa admitted.

"Excellent, in that case I believe I'll be joining the two of you," Maribelle said with her usual victorious smile causing Lissa to grow nervous. "After all, I too have been considering a bit of study into the magical arts."

"Okay?" Lissa said unsurely.

The two finished up their tea shortly after that, a bit too quickly for the nervous Princess's tastes. Reluctantly, Lissa led her friend to an empty set of chambers on the castle's second floor which were occasionally used for mage's duels. In Ylisse's past elemental spells played a much more prominent role in their society; many members of nobility became mages, their armies had many more spell casting units, and of course it played an important role in certain politics. Whenever the current ruling Exalt saw a conflict that would prefer not to have a say in, the debate was often handled by a magic duel between mages. As such, Ylisse's castle had several such chamber's that would be used to hold these duels, this was where the two found Aversa waiting for Lissa with a series of tomes under her arms.

"I wasn't expecting you to bring a friend princess," the former Plegian _Dark Flyer_ said as she looked at the unannounced guest. "Maribelle…"

"Aversa…" the noble woman returned with a well tempered tone. "Lissa tells me that you've been teaching her magic."

"Only the elemental types, we're working with wind spells currently." Aversa may have sounded and appeared casual when she'd spoken, but in truth she wasn't dropping her guard for an instance. "Why? Did you think I was trying to convert your innocent little princess to the realm of witchcraft and hexes?"

"I doubt even the vilest of the Grimleal's influence could corrupt her, my Lissa is far too pure of heart to fall for those dark arts." So blinded by her beaming pride was Maribelle that she didn't notice Aversa rolling her eyes in annoyance. "But she tells me that you're not teaching her anything of the sort. I'm a bit curious to see what you curriculum entails."

"Let's leave the song and dance there, I know full well how you feel about this and the distrust you have for me," Aversa said to the young noble. "I hate wasting time; endlessly apologizing to your won't bring your village and neither will your continued hatred."

Lissa was beginning to grow nervous as a harsh silence fell over the two. The princess had known that she hadn't had much of a choice when Maribelle had decided to follow along, but the tension in the room was getting too heated for even what she'd imagined. Her mind racing, the princess tried whatever strategy came to mind right then.

"M-Maybe Maribelle can join us from now on?" she suggested, getting quizzical looks from both women. "I-I mean you did say that you wanted to try out magic, right? It'd help if I could have someone else to help me with the work as we go."

"That… seems to be the best option," Aversa admitted as she turned to the other blonde. "I suppose this way you won't have to worry about me teaching the princess anything heinous."

"And I suppose with time I might begin to grow used to you," Maribelle agreed with something of a smirk. "Who knows? Perhaps we may actually find ourselves warming up to each other."

"I wouldn't count on that, I'm a rather hard person to warm up to and I have an even harder time warming up to others," Aversa said darkly. Her thoughts then drifted to the man from her past that for all of his faults she still remembered quite fondly. His usual pitiless attitude towards her, his occasional snarky comments, and those few times from what seemed like just yesterday when he comforted her in secret. "...And people that manage to never last that long…"

"I'm sorry?" Maribelle questioned.

"It's nothing," Aversa dismissed before she opened her spell tome. "Well ladies, I suppose it's time we started our lesson…"

 **-** _ **Meanwhile: Ylisse Castle's Treasure Vault**_ **-**

Emmeryn was silent as she stood alone in her castle's treasure room. Aside from the _Fire Emblem_ and _Falchion_ which were almost always carried by members of the royal family, all of Ylisse's. Her late father's old sword was here, and was regularly polished by only the most trusted of servants. The was the spear the ended a destructive revolution from over a hundred years back, a tome containing the original pages of the first theories of magic, and a bow said to house the soul of the fifth Exalt. However, Emmeryn wasn't interested in any of the treasures that came from her family, she was interested in two other treasures, the blood stained coat and sword that rested off in the corner.

"I hear you visit this place often," her brother said calmly as he walked into the room. "How are you doing?"

"Not perfect, but I've been through far worse," she told Chrom. "I just come here from time to time to remind myself."

"Emm, we both know that Ragna wouldn't want you to do this. Rest if you still need to, but what's done is done… I eventually forgave myself, you need to do the same."

"Easier said than done Chrom, but you misunderstand my meaning. Ragna's sacrifice and those of the pegasus knights is what managed to save my life, I owe it to them to make my life as meaningful as possible… That's why I am going to be attending the next council meeting."

"A-Are you certain?" Chrom asked his sister nervously. "It's the first full one since the war ended and you've been out of the smaller meetings between the nobles for some time"

"I'm aware, but the sooner I return to my duties the easier it will be for me and those I have responsibilities toward. I will need your help though."

"Not a problem," Chrom assured her. "Robin and I will help get you up to speed with everything that's happened before the meeting."

"I'm glad I can always count on the two of you," the Exalt said with her well known soft smile. "I've never been one for gossip, but our dear little sister's told me that your time with Robin hasn't been all business."

"Th-there's some truth to that," the prince admitted with a harsh blush. "We're thinking about pursuing a more… romantic relationship… Are you against it?"

"Not in the slightest," Emmeryn told him calmly. "I'm glad that you finally found a special someone in life." Chrom let out a sigh of relief; though Emmeryn was his sister she had needed to act like his mother for much of his early life which lead him to look up to her with family authority even to this day. "Not to mention I think her calm manner of thinking will be perfect to managing your hotheadedness."

"Hey!" Chrom exclaimed while Emmeryn gave a dignified giggle. Rolling his eyes, the prince's gaze once more fell on his late friend's sword and coat. "...It's a little hard to look at Ragna's belonging when they're covered in his own blood, do think we can repair them?"

"We can certainly try," Emmeryn told him with a soft smile. "I think we owe that much to him…"

 _ **The Next Morning -The LongFort-**_

A freshly recruited Feroxi soldier shivered as he stood along his lookout post at the Plegian end of the Longfort. Ever since he'd joined the army of Regna Ferox he'd always dreamed of fighting in glorious battle, hunting monsters, saving maidens, and even managing to defeat Kahn Basilio in a duel. All he'd really done since joining was stand here and keep a look out for the Pelagians that were trying to attack the wall. Since he'd only recently finished his training, he'd been stationed here right after the war had ended and had yet to see a single attack.

"Damn this is dull," he muttered to himself as he clutched his spear. "If something exciting doesn't happen soon I'm going to go insane."

He'd just finished the words when he finally caught a glimpse of a small group of travellers. Peering off into the distance, he was able to make out three travelers; one in a cloak, another in dark mage robes, and the third in heavy armor black as midnight.

"The _Black Knight_ …" he said in awe as he saw the three continue to approach. Finally managing to snap out of his thoughts, he headed to the rooftop entrance to the fort and called down into the whole. "Commander! I think you're going to want to see this!"

Within a few minutes, Commander Escald was on the roof. He was a middle aged man who rarely shaved so that his face wouldn't grow frostbitten as easily. He wore light armor and wielded a spear that had been given to him by Basilio when he'd been given his post. Looking out over the side of the wall, his eyes found the _Black Knight_ and his traveling companions.

"I didn't think he was the type to travel with anyone," the commander said. "Private, head down and tell the others to ready themselves. Don't be quick to attack, but await my signal should he try anything. Understood?"

"Sir!" the private said with a salute as he headed down into the fort. Escald continued to stare out and observe the _Black Knight_ , trying to guess why the traveller was trying to get into Regna Ferox.

Down below the _Black Knight_ and his companions made their way ever closer to the _LongFort_. The enigmatic armored figure leaving deep prints in the ground as he walked, his enchanted armor slayer sheathed and strapped to his side while his red and black cape fluttered in the soft breeze behind him.

"Well, I can see where it gets the name," Henry said as he looked at the _LongFort_. "So… are we gonna blow it up? Please say yes."

"Don't be ridiculous, we're just going to pass through and that will be the end of it," the Knight told him.

"It's not gonna be that easy big guy," the dark mage told him. "A big, mysterious, and well armed figure is just gonna walk into Regna Ferox through the front door? I hope whatever plan you've got works, cause that sure ain't doing the trick."

"I believe he's aware of that," Tiki interjected. "...At the very least I think he is…"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," the _Black Knight_ said sarcastically as they made their way to the closed gate that would lead them into the kingdom. "Doesn't look like they're in a hurry to let us through."

" _BLACK KNIGHT!_ " a powerful voice called from up on the wall. "I am Commander Peter Escald of the Regna Ferox _LongFort_ Army! I demand to know why you desire passage into our kingdom!"

' _Here goes nothing… Damn I hate politics…_ ' the knight thought to himself. "I'm trying to make my way into Ylisse!" he called up the wall. "The situation at the other border is already pretty tense! 'Sides, I already wiped out most of the Risen in Plegia!"

"So you admit to seek passage into Ylisse!" Escald called once more from the top of the Fort. "Why so!?"

"This woman has an important message for the Royal family! I'm just trying to get her to the Ylisse-Ferox side of the border!"

"And the dark mage! What about him!?" Peter demanded.

"...No clue! You can keep him here if you want! You'd be doing me a favor!" the knight shouted.

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Henry shouted from down below.

' _I'd be surprised if you didn't._ ' "Look, if it's all the same to you, can I just beat you in a fight a go through? I don't want to spend any more time in the snow than I have to."

Escald seemed to ponder over that request. On one hand he didn't have any specific orders to keep the _Black Knight_ out of Regna Ferox, but if the mysterious warrior attacked any of the towns it'd be on his own head. The _Knight_ was however told to be bringing an end to _Risen_ and outlaws alike, so it was quite the crossroad. And if the rumor's about his prowess proved to be true...

"That won't be necessary," Escald finally decided, surprising the party. "Given my authority you're free to pass, but I will first send a messenger to the capital to bring news of your arrival. I'm putting my trust in you _Black Knight_ , don't make me regret it."

"...And the others?" the _Black Knight_ questioned as he looked to his two companions.

"Also free to travel through," the commander assured him. "Though keep an eye on them. If anything wrong happens on their account it will be on both our heads."

"You don't need to remind me," the _Black Knight_ said as he crossed his armored hands and waited while Escald headed into the _LongFort_. "...Well that was anti-climatic."

"If you're so disappointed we can still blast our way through," Henry offered as he gently patted his spell tome.

"Not interested," the _Black Knight_ told him bluntly before turning to Tiki. "You going to be alright in that cloak? It get's pretty cold here."

"I assure you, a little snow is nothing new to me," the manakete told him. "I've traveled through much harsher conditions and managed to survive quite nicely, even during a war."

"So long as you're sure…" A low groan was heard as the massive iron gate was lifted revealing an open passage into the warrior kingdom. Letting out a deep breath, the knight in black took a hesitant first few steps in the kingdom, snow crunching beneath his armored boots as he did so. "...It beats the desert at least."

 _ **Author's Note CONTAINS IMPORTANT MESSAGES MOVING FORWARD**_

 _ **Hey guys, short chapter and not a lot happened, but that's going to be changing next time around.**_

 _ **Okay, so people seem to be pretty confused about the pairing types after the survey I did last time, so I'm going to try this again. I want you to vote with what kind of Ragna pairing you want moving forward, but do it with your comments. Here's how this is going to work:**_

 _ **types of pairings: single, multi-harem, mega-harem (every girl)**_

 _ **2\. The one that gets the most comments wins, no exceptions.**_

 _ **3\. I will still do Omake's for characters that don't get S-ranks**_

 _ **4\. To avoid spamming, just make a short summary for why you think this type of pairing fits the story. Doesn't have to be long or even include specific characters, but it'll give me a few ideas of what to do moving forward.**_

 _ **Alright, now this might be bad news for you, but who's to say really? You've probably noticed that my stories have been getting shorter chapters lately and there have been longer breaks between updates. That's partially because I've had several head colds, but most of my ideas have been going towards one of my other stories:**_ _ **Rebirth of Azure**_.

 _ **For those of you that don't know, that story is one of my newer works that only has two chapters out. Instead of putting Ragna into a preset world like Fire Emblem, SAO, or Soul Eater I'm putting him into a new Dark Age Fantasy world that I created with new rules and some of my own characters. Reviews have been pretty good with most people seeming to like it while others say it's not their cup of tea.**_

 _ **Now the reason I bring this up is because I'm going to be trying a bit of a schedule change these next few months. Now**_ _ **Rebirth of Azure**_ _**will also be updated every other time so the upcoming order will look something like this.**_

 _ **A Reaper's Awakening (This Update)**_

 _ **Rebirth of Azure (Next Update)**_

 _ **Azure Throne (3rd Update)**_

 _ **A Reaper's Awakening**_

 _ **Rebirth of Azure**_

 _ **A Reaper's Soul**_

 _ **A Reaper's Awakening**_

 _ **Rebirth of Azure**_

 _ **A Reaper's Game**_

 _ **I'm hoping that this will work out and I'll have more time to develop ideas for stories that I don't already have planned out. If you don't care for**_ _ **Rebirth of Azure**_ _**I apologize in advance. Alright, time for the Omake, better make this a good one.**_

 _ **Cravings**_

"Last thing I want is a mystery to solve, but I guess I don't have a choice," Ragna muttered to himself as he walked around the camp's path. "Still can't decide if Lissa blackmailing me by threatening to tell Chrom about my extra training is really out of character or horribly in character for her… Anyways according to the Princess, Gaius, and Stahl someone's been raiding their sweets stashes. Gaius is asking me, so he's out as a suspect… I guess my next lead in candy lovers would have to be Nowi."

Ragna continued his walk until he came to the young Manakete's tent. "Even if she isn't responsible, something tells me whoever is would be a lot less eager to steal candy when there's a dragon looking for 'em." Hearing rustling and some eager chewing coming from inside Ragna didn't bother announcing his presence before charging into the tent. "Aha! Caught-! …you."

He'd been expecting a dragon, he got a squirrel. "R-Ragna!" Makoto shouted at him with a deep blush on her face. "W-wait a second, this isn't MY tent! Hehehehehehe…. So uh… what brings you here?"

"I've was sent to look for a little candy thief and something tells me I found them," the Reaper told her, his eye narrowed in a harsh glare.

"W-what kind proof do you have that it's me?" At Makoto's question, Ragna glanced down to both of her hands inside a small snatchle on the ground that was quite clearly labeled ' _Nowi's Candy_ '.

"Outside. Now." His harsh tone left no room for argument, and Makoto realized this as she sighed before following him outside the tent. Walking for with the accused for a moment, Ragna waited until they were in a more private spot in the woods before turning to the Beastkin. "This really isn't a good week for you Nanaya; first you get me to give you half the gold I've got saved up with a waterworks show, and now you're sneaking into the other's tents to steal candy."

"If I could control myself I wouldn't have done it I swear," Makoto said as she tried to brush off some of the candy crumbs that were on her cheeks. "It's just… It's been so long since I've had an amazing _Walnut Candy_ like that!"

" _Walnut Candy_?" Ragna repeated. "You just wanted that type of candy?"

"If any of you had taken a moment to look through, you'd have seen that was the only type I was stealing," she told him while putting her hands on her hips in a deep pout.

"And when you took my gold you were just looking to buy as many of those things as you could," the Reaper guessed with a sigh. "Look, normally I couldn't care less about this, but you got into the Shepherd's cause I told them you were a decent fighter. The least you could do is stay out of trouble for the both of us."

"I know, I know… I feel bad about it, honest I do, it's just sometimes my beastkin instincts sort of take over, you know?"

"Is it really the instinct's fault or it your guns blazing persona?" Ragna questioned with a sigh before reaching inside his jacket and tossing a small satchel from inside to Makoto. "Here."

Curious, Makoto looked inside and saw that she'd just been given thirteen of the treats she was desiring. "You had some of these too?"

"Yeah, _had_ ," Ragna grumbled. "I understand you love these things, but try to get those cravings under control, alright?"

"You got it! After these I'm going cold turkey" Makoto exclaimed before stuffing the candies into her mouth and chewing with gusto.

"...Those things might last longer if you actually took some time to enjoy them," the Reaper reminded, before a massive roar was heard a short distance away.

"Wh-what the heck was that?" the squirrel beastkin demanded, the fur on her tail standing up in spikes.

"That was Nowi, finding out someone took her candy," Ragna explained nonchalantly. Makoto slowly tried to crawl away, but Ragna's hand shot out and grabbed her by the tail. "Nope, you're running away from this."

"You want me to talk to a dragon!?" Makoto screamed at the top of her lungs. "I can't do that! She'll barbeque me then eat me alive!"

"Shoulda thought about that before you decided to steal from her," the Reaper said without mercy as he dragged Makoto back towards the encampment while she desperately clawed at the ground to escape. "There's always hell to pay Makoto, this is just one of the few time where I'm not the guy that pays it."

 **Support Rank C Obtained with Makoto Nanaya**

 _ **Well that's the chapter guys! Ciao!**_


	27. Beneath the Armor

(Anyone interested in doing a little Player Versus Player in CentralFiction? I'll be hosting a room tonight at 8PM _Pacific Standard Time_ so come by if you want to have a few exhibition rounds. This could likely end up becoming a weekly thing, so stop on by if you're interested, all _respectful_ players are welcome. My username is  Storm07VII (obviously). Enjoy the chapter!)

 _ **Chapter XXVII: Beneath the Armor**_

The Black Knight's company continued to make their way through the snow covered lands of Regna Ferox. Now that they'd gotten further into the kingdom the weather had taken a much harsher turn and the wind was howling as the three continued to travel through. Despite her words prior to entering the kingdom, it seemed that the Manakete was struggling to keep up with the others.

' _This is the worst storm I've been in,_ ' Tiki thought bitterly as the blurry forms of the _Black Knight_ and Henry continued to fade from her view. ' _How was I able to do this with Marth? ...Perhaps I was in my dragon form at the time?_ ' She grabbed out her dragon stone and attempted to activate it, but she lost her footing and the orb escaped her grasp and was lost in the snow. "NO!"

Desperately she dug through the snow in a vain attempt to find it, ignoring the painful frostbite forming on her hands. By now the image of her companions had long since vanished from view leaving her alone in the storm. Her last hope remained on finding the orb, but no matter where she looked she couldn't find it…

"If you don't want to freeze you need to keep moving," came the _Black Knight_ 's voice. The knight approached her, making sure he was standing between he and the wind, his cape flapping powerfully in the harsh breeze.

"B-But t-t-the D-D-Dragon St-St-Stone," Tiki said through chattering teeth. The _Black Knight_ said nothing, but reached his right arm out and hovered it just over the snow. Tiki didn't have any idea what he was doing, but when he stuck his arm into the snow he immediately found the large orb. "H-H-How?"

"We should keep moving; I don't want to lose Henry in this blizzard," the knight said as he handed the orb back to Tiki. She tried activating the orb, but with her shaking hands she couldn't muster the energy. "...Stay close."

Standing beside the dragon woman, the enigma draped his cape over Tiki to shelter her from the winds. He didn't have the patience to notice her deep blush as he glanced at a burst of flames off in the distance.

"He's getting impatient; we should go." Tiki shakily nodded to the statement and but the orb away, using her hands now to grab the large cape in order to cover herself while the two walked. It didn't take them long to make it closer to the fire signals and find the _Dark Mage_ casting them. "We're here dammit, what's the problem?"

"The problem's that we don't have any place nearby for shelter!" Henry shouted over the wind. "No offense, but freezing to death was not on my wishlist!"

"I'm surprised by that," the _Black Knight_ told him humorlessly before peering off into the distance. "It looks like there might be a treeline to the north; it's not going to give us the best protection, but it'll be better than staying out here."

"I'll take whatever cover I can get right now," Henry muttered before seeing Tiki shivering beneath the knight's cape. "Speaking of which can I get in on that? I'm having trouble feeling my anything." The _Black Knight_ didn't seem to object so Henry got on the other side of him and bundled the cape around it as best he could. "...And that's a wrap!"

"...Seriously?" both the knight and Tiki muttered at the same time as Henry cackled at his own joke.

 _ **Meanwhile on a much warmer side of the world**_

The runaway bride Elphelt Valentine sat alone in the castle gardens (the place gets a lot of use), silently mulling over the book in her hands entitled _Make Him Fall for you in Fortnight_. She'd heard about the book as an off handed remark from one of her fellow Shepherds and had learned that it supposedly carried many secrets about snagging the right man. She'd found out that Cordelia had a copy of it herself and when she'd asked to borrow the tome the pegasus knight had only been too happy to be rid of it. Not that she could see why…

"All right, so in order to get a guy for me I need to think about a subject that we can both talk about…" Elphelt said. "Well… that's step one anyways, but I'm sure if I can figure that one out well enough I can get married right then and there!"

...Needless to say. book or not she likely wouldn't be getting hitched anytime soon.

"Hey Elphelt!" Nowi's energetic young voice called as she ran across the garden to the reading woman.

"Oh hi Nowi," Elphelt said happily as she marked the page she'd been reading and but the tome down for the moment. While getting a husband was first in foremost in her life, she was always willing to put her search on hold in order to spend time with her friends. After all, once she was married she'd be spending _ALL_ of her time with her new husband… so she thought.

"Wanna play something?" Nowi asked cheerfully.

"I'd love to, what were you hoping to do?" Elphelt asked with a smile.

"I dunno, hide and seek maybe? Oh! We could play tag!" Nowi suggested. "Or maybe we could play house!"

"House?" Elphelt asked, cocking her head to the side. "...How exactly do you play house?"

"Oh it's really fun! I've started playing with Lon'qu recently!" Nowi said excitedly. "What you do is you pretend to be a family in this make believe home and raise your family. Whenever I play with Lon'qu I'm always the mom and he's the dad. We make food together, take our kids to the school, we even sometimes do these cute high voices when we need to act out as a kid!"

"So… you play with each other…" Elphelt began slowly. "And you're… husband and wife…"

"Yep, so you wanna try it? We can get Lon'qu and you can play at being the mom! I always wanted to try playing the kid anyways..."

Elphelt said nothing for the longest while, leading Nowi to become nervous that the bride had frozen where she'd been standing. Then all at once, a burst of blood spouted from her nose as her face seemed to become overcome by strange ecstasy. The sudden nosebleed was so powerful that Nowi had to take a step back in order to avoid earning a stain. Elphelt then fell to the ground with a dull _thud_.

"El? El!?" Nowi screamed as ran to her fallen friend. "What's wrong!? Is this something that normally happens to humans!? Do you need me to get a doctor!? Answer me!" Nowi was so fraught with despair that she didn't see the happy look on Elphelt's face… most likely enjoying a stranger version of _House_ inside her fantasy.

"...I refuse to approach that," Lon'qu said bluntly from across the garden.

The Feroxi swordsman had first followed Nowi in order to play house with her, but after seeing her extend an invitation to Elphelt and bride's… energetic response, he decided he'd mind himself for now. He was about to turn before he realized that Nowi hadn't stopped panicking from beside Elphelt's unconscious form.

"That's… a rather large nosebleed…" he bluntly observed aloud as Nowi continued to panic. "Is she going to be alright? Did she lose too much blood?" Giving an old Chonsin swear at the turn of events, Lon'qu hurried away to a healer.

 _ **Feroxi Snowland**_

' _I have to admit… This isn't the worst feeling I've_ _had recently_ ,' the _Black Knight_ admitted as his trio continued to walk on. Tiki and Henry were huddled in his cape close to him as they traveled through the trees and continued to seek shelter in the harsh wastelands. ' _It takes me back… a little…_ _Is that-?_ '

"H-hey Kn-night," Henry stuttered through his chattering teeth. "I-is th-that a c-cave?"

"Looks like it," the enigma responded calmly. "We'll take shelter there until this damn blizzard passes by."

"V-very well," Tiki said through her chill caused stutter. "A-As long as we get out of this snow."

Once the three had made their way inside the cave, Tiki and Henry withdrew from the folds of the _Black Knight's_ cape and allowed him to brush the gathered snow off his person. The cave didn't appear to be too large; there wasn't much room above their heads and it only went back around forty feet. Still, it got them out of the snow.

"Fire… we need a fire…" the dark mage said miserably, he couldn't stop shaking from the snow.

Nodding, the _Black Knight_ drew his sword from his side and drove it into the ground. ' _I hope this works._ ' Sending magic into the sword, he caused the blade to ignite, shrouding itself in red hot flames. Letting more flow into his blade for good measure the knight eventually took as hand off the sword and left it in the floor where it stayed lit.

"That should last us for a while at least," the _Black Knight_ said as before he sat near the sword to enjoy that warmth it gave off. "Get comfortable, we don't know how long we're going to be here."

"Warmth…" Henry said, giving a forlorn sigh as he sat near the sword. "I've never been so cold before, even when I was here last time."

"You've been to Ferox before?" the _Black Knight_ questioned as Tiki sat herself as near the sword as she could. "When?"

"Oh just a bit before all hell broke loose with the war," he said with a big smile on his face. "There was someone I was trying to find so that they'd be at the right place at the right time… and to make sure the war didn't end too early."

"That's distressing… Distressing, but expected," the enigmatic knight sighed before turning to Tiki. "So… where exactly are you from? ...Now that I think of it, what exactly is it that you do? Anyone with a message to Ylisse's noble family is probably a person of import, circumstantial or otherwise."

"In my case it's both," the green haired Manakete began as rubbed her frostbitten hands together by the fire. "I've been called the voice of Naga, and as such I'm seen as a rather large figure of religion and spirit." Despite her claims, the knight couldn't help but notice that she wasn't speaking from pride or petty self importance, merely that she was stating facts. "Unfortunately the continent I hail from has been involved with a rather large war recently."

"A war?"

"A single man has dedicated his life to becoming, and I quote, 'He who embodies the victory and soul of man, he who has the true right to rule, and he who surpasses the gods themselves.' He goes by the title of _Conqueror_ and has spent these few years putting the entire continent under his rule… Progress seemed to slow when I was last there… but I feel as though I have reason to fear for the future."

"We- Ylisse rather, just ended it own war. Maybe it wasn't the most destructive of conflicts, but I don't think they would be in any shape to help you, much as their royal family could sympathize," the knight explained.

"I understand that, but I did not expect to have assistance at present in any case," Tiki told him with a sigh.

"Politics?" both the _Black Knight_ and Henry guessed in unison.

"Politics," Tiki sadly agreed before turning to the knight. "And yourself?"

"Beg pardon?"

"I've answer your questions, I'd very much enjoy your answers," Tiki told him, her gaze now more analytical than previously. "I'd also ask Henry… but quite frankly he seems like an open book."

"Yep, nya ha ha HACHOOO!" Henry's sneeze was loud and broke through his laugh, but he did his best to shrug it off.

"On the other hand you, Sir Knight, seem to be that of a sealed tomb; mysteriously hiding dark secrets and your own unknown agenda… I'd like to better know my guide if he's the type to ask my intentions."

"Yet you've already told me what you intended to do," the _Black Knight_ noted. "What will you do if I don't answer?"

"I can transform into a dragon, you'll figure it out," she said, the tension between the two seeming to rise.

"I don't think the sword's the only thing that's heating up here…" Henry commented glumly.

"...I'm only here to get you the border and destroy any _Risen_ we encounter along the way. As for who I am, I've got sacred armor, I hunt _Risen_ , I can't stand politics, and I've got the two of you for company… That's all there is to me."

"You sound like you're claiming to be an empty husk of your former self," Tiki judged harshly. The Knight said nothing. "I'm sorry, that was far too unreasonable of me. Please forgive me…"

"...You're not wrong though," he admitted.

"I… I see…" she said with a grimace, before hearing Henry harshly sneeze again. "But Sir Knight, surely you-"

"We should sleep while we have the chance," the _Black Knight_ interrupted. "We have a busy day ahead of us, you'll want a full night's sleep." Tiki was experienced enough to know words of finality when she heard them.

 _ **Eastern Regna Ferox**_

The other end of the Feroxi kingdom was in far better weather conditions than the lands the _Black Knight_ traveled, but that didn't mean it was a pleasant experience to travel. For the mysterious female sword woman known as _Marth_ however, any location that wasn't covered in flames and swarming with _Risen_ was always a locale to appreciate in her eyes. Currently _Marth_ was wearing an azure blue traveler's cloak, completed with a hood to keep the snow out of her hair.

Her search for the monstrous _Risen_ had started to become less fruitful as of late, she could only hope that it meant that the _Risen_ numbers were quickly dropping or that the kingdoms were become more capable of handling the demons. Her role leaded her to be a warrior of the shadows shrouded in mystery, but that didn't mean that she couldn't let her actions speak for her purpose. Like the village ahead of her.

"This town… it doesn't look like it's been attacked recently, but there does seem to be some damage done to it," she noted. "I may as well see where they stand and if I can lend them any assistance."

Making her way through the small village she noticed several people giving curious gazes her way, but they didn't seem out of fear at least. She tried to think about who to ask, but thankfully fate gave her a ready answer.

"Hold it," a member of the town militia said, halting _Marth_ 's walk. "You're not from around here are you?"

"I'm not, I just wanted to know the situation of this town," she told the soldier. The man eyed over the woman for a few long seconds before relenting.

"We're not perfect right now, but we've been doing much worse," he admitted with a sigh. "Those damned _Risen_ have everyone on edge these days. We've all heard the stories, there's no telling what could happen if those monster show up on our doorstep."

"Meaning you haven't been attacked by them?" _Marth_ questioned. "But then what of the damage to your town."

"Noticed that did you? You've got a keen eye for this sort of thing Miss…"

" _Marth,_ " she said simply.

"...So you're the one that fought for the West Kahn in the last tournament," the guard noted before shrugging it off. "Anyways you're right, up until a month or so ago we've been having trouble with bandits. Large group of them would raid us in the dead of night. They didn't carry off any of our women thank Naga, but we're still barely able to make it by."

"You said that this problem stopped a month ago, any idea why?" _Marth_ asked.

"I think they got nervous, too many things to tell what it was though," the guard admitted. "...It could have been that elite fighting force that passed near here not long ago. The ones from Ylisse, been hearing a lot of rumors about them from travelers."

' _Was my father suppose to slay these bandits?_ ' _Marth_ thought to herself. ' _My Aunt would always tell me the stories about my father saving innocents from the bandits that abused them, but did he ever fight this group in his man travels? ...Even if he did, enough's changed about this world where he might not have been in the place to slay this particular group. There's little I could do now at any rate._ '

"I take it you're looking for somewhere to stay?" the guard asked, snapping the swordswoman out of her thoughts. "Ask for Johnson in town, he rents rooms out for cheap and won't ask questions as long as you don't raise trouble."

"Thank you," _Marth_ said with an affirmed nod. "The snow's been harsh on me as of late."

"Yeah, well stay a few years in the north and you'll get used to it," the guard said before chuckling darkly. "That or freeze to death."

"Right," _Marth_ responded with a strained and nervous smile.

 _ **The Cave -A few Hours Later-**_

"...ki...iki...Tiki…TIKI!"

"Mmmm...mmmmm…" the Manakete groaned in her sleep. "Just a few more years…"

"Stay asleep I'm leaving you in snow," the _Black Knight_ harshly threatened. "We've got a problem with Henry…"

"With… with Henry?" Tiki asked as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She could still hear the howling within the cave as the storm continued outside. Turning her eyes to the pale haired mage, she could see that he was indeed in trouble.

Though he'd curled into his mage's cloak and was laying as close to the burning sword as possible, he was still shivering uncontrollably. Sweat rained down its brow unhealthily and even his face which had that large goofy smile on it was grimacing in his pain.

"It's the cold…" the _Black Knight_ said emotionlessly. "Dammit, I was careless. Of course he wouldn't be used to cold like this, he's from the desert for god's sake!"

"C-can't you heal him…?" Tiki asked in her fear for the young man. "Your arm's a mysterious object, can it possibly cure his sickness?"

"I don't know if it could, but even then I'm no good with healing magic as of right now… That's going to be a problem…" The knight looked down at his first traveling companion for long while, taxing his brain with what he was going to do before finally coming to decision. Hefting his firely blade out of the ground, he let the flames dissolve before sheathing the sword at his side. "Tiki, follow me and listen closely."

"Y-yes," she said as she bundled herself as best she could in her traveling garment before following her guide out of the cave. Once they were outside, the _Black Knight_ handed her and a waterskin while he examined the trees. "Fill it with snow and warm it until you can give it to Henry. Feed it to him, put it on a rag and wipe his brow with it; just do whatever you need to so he stays alive."

"But how am I supposed to warm it?!" she demanded over the harsh winds. "You took your sword and I can't-!"

In a strange method to answer, the _Black Knight_ stood in from oak a tree before charging his power into one of his arms and smashing his fist into the tree, turning it to splinters before Tiki's very eyes.

"Take the dry wood and put it where the sword was; it'll catch fire…" he told her bluntly. "I'll be back soon with… something…"

"Something!? What are you leaving for!?" she demanded. The knight didn't stop to address her, simply proceeding on his way into the harsh storm. "So… he cares more than he lets on, it reminds me of Navarre… I need to move _now_."

Tiki hastily followed the _Black Knight_ 's instructions gathering the dry wood before the weather could turn it too damp to use. Like her guide had said, the moment she put it to the floor it caught ablaze and provided some warmth for Henry. She didn't stop until she was sure she'd gathered all of the wood that she could and created a decent sized fire for her ill friend. There was still a small pile of wood left over for her to add to the fire in case the knight took longer on his errand than she expected… but then again, she didn't have a real idea of how long he'd be to begin with.

Still, she was diligent in her work and tireless apply a warm rag to Henry's forehead in order to warm him, if only slightly. She even went as far as to give up her own personal cloak so that Henry would have slightly more warmth. She was so diligent in fact that when she finally allowed herself to look away, the harsh winds had died down considerably.

"Sounds like the storm's about to finally pass," Tiki sighed as she wiped her brow. Henry had managed to fall asleep through his ordeal and was snoozing peacefully. "Now all that's left is to-" Approaching footsteps… a lot of them. "Oh no…" Dragonstone in hand, Tiki hurried to the cave's entrance, gritting her teeth in ire whence she arrived.

"Well look who's here! A fresh catch!" a filthy man in barbarian furs said with a laugh. He wasn't alone around 3 dozen men were outside. Rouge swordsmen, fighters, old sellswords; bandits. "Let's grab the girl, maybe we can sell her off for some better coin than usual."

Tiki took a ready stance as the men stepped forward, readying the _Dragonstone_ in her pocket should she need to activate it. She was heavily outnumbered and her power had not yet been fully restored, but with Henry vulnerable inside and her guide still out in the wildlands, she didn't have much choice than to hold them here.

"Hold on boys," a voice sounded in the middle of the mercenary group. A barbarian in purple armor and short cut hair had been the one to speak and was eyeing Tiki in an… odd manner. Not an obviously perverse one, just odd. "Tell me, dearest Victor, do you see what I see?"

"I believe I do, my sweet brother," another barbarian said. This one appeared to be his twin in almost every way, only differing slightly with red armor and a somewhat different hairstyle. "Those ears say that this woman is clearly a Manakete. Did you not catch one before dear Vincent?"

"Oh, so you remember the one that we sold together in Plegia," Vincent said with a smile before snapping his fingers. Some of sword user immediately switched their weapons out for curved blades that were ebbed like wings. "This should take her down a little easier."

' _Wyrmslayers_ ,' Tiki thought as her blood grew even colder. Those weapons were the bane of her kind, following only to the _Falchion_ and the mystic _Book of Naga_ ; those swords could cut through her scales with the smallest of resistance, able to down a dragon in a single well placed swing.

"Now then little girl…" Victor began. "Why don't you drop that stone in your hands and come quietly, I'd hate to mar your face, it would drop the price considerably."

 _ **Clunk...Clunk...Clunk**_

The bandits took their eyes off of Tiki for a moment and quickly glanced to the noise behind them. The _Black Knight_ was slowly making his way forward towards the group, his cape flowing majestically behind him and a small leather sack in his hands. He made his way forward, not seeming to care about the bandits blocking his way.

"Hold it!" one of the mercenaries shouted. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm that woman's guide," he said emotionlessly. "If you value your pathetic lives, I suggest you get the hell out of my way."

"Hah! Fat chance! Armor like that will make an even larger fortune," Vincent said happily. "Perhaps we could afford a proper manner with coin like that dearest Victor."

"Oh I agree wholeheartedly agree," the other said with an eager nod. "Large enough for the both of us."

"I don't have time for this…" the knight growled before harshly throwing the sack in his hands over the bandits to Tiki who managed to barely catch it. "Take that to Henry, it won't taste great, but it'll help…"

Nodding Tiki hurried inside the cave right as the _Knight_ put his hand on his _Armour Slayer's_ hilt. As bent his knees and ready himself, the very ground seemed to rumble as the knight's armour gave off a powerful shine. The bandits looked at one another nervously, all of them becoming all the more hesitant to strike.

"D-Don't piss yourselves because of some cheap show!" Victor demanded. "The man's a fool if he thinks he can take us on! He doesn't even see how badly he's outnumbered!?"

"No, I don't…" the knight admitted ominously right before he disappeared from view. There was a burst of snow where he'd been standing as a harsh wind blew over the mercenaries. The knight had drawn his sword and had passed through the bandits in that one instant, now standing at the mouth of the cave. Casually turning to face the bandits again, he heard the gory burst as the leader who'd spoken was cleaved in half.

" _I only see dead men._ "

 **(Cue** **BERSERK** _Hundred Years War_ **)**

Vincent stood aghast as he watched the two gory halves of his beloved brother fall dead to the ground. The look on his brother's face was full of surprise and agony, pushing the bandit leader over the edge.

" _ **KILL HIM!**_ " he roared with feral rage causing his men rushed forward without hesitation. " _ **DON'T LEAVE A PIECE OF HIM UNCUT! I WANT HIS HEAD TO DECORATE MY BROTHER'S GRAVE!**_ "

The first man to reach the _Black Knight_ was the first to die, a single powerful slash from the knight's sword cut through weapon, armor, and man, decapitating his foe with ease. The next man followed up immediately and brought his axe down on the knight, only to have his target swing his heavily armored body so the attack missed. Putting all of his weight behind it, the enigmous warrior then kicked the man with enough force to send him flying back to knock over several other charging warriors.

"I'LL CRACK THAT ARMOR WIDE OPEN!" another warrior shouted as he leapt into the air. Trying to bring down his battle hammer proved foolish as the blow was easily deflected by the knight, sending him stumble back. The _Black Knight's_ attention was then taken by one of the swordsmen wielding a _Wyrmslayer_ who'd come up from behind and had narrowly missed his stab. The _Black Knight_ cleaved through him without difficulty before twirling the sword to a back handed hold at the end of his swing. He then plunged the blade behind him, fatally impaling the warrior he'd sent of balance. "GAH!"

Viciously tearing the blade out, he sent a splash of blood at three warriors charging him a blinded their eyes. Another warrior tried attacking him from afar with his handaxe, but the knight's arm managed to catch the weapon in his free hand before throwing it back and striking the thrower down. A group of enemy archers unleash a volley of arrows, but the knight simply grabbed one of the blinded bandits and used him as a human shield. Powerfully heaving the dead man through the air, he threw the body at another group of warriors cause yet more of them to charge.

"H-He's a monster!" one the warriors stammered, the snow beneath his feet turning yellow as he lost control in his fear. "I've gotta get out of here!"

" _ **FINE THEN! HE'S MINE!"**_ Vincent shouted as he charged forward with his axe and performed a massive slash. The _Black Knight_ merely stepped back to avoid the blow, but the two he'd blind with blood where cleaved in half by the bandit leader's ferocity. The second axe swing was easily blocked by the knight's sword before he delivered a powerful punch to Vincent's chest and sent him sprawling back. " _ **DAMN YOUUUUU!"**_

Vincent rushed forward one final time, twirling his entire body into the final powerful slash. The swing was fierce enough to cause a wave of snow from just the sheer force of the attack. Had he been facing a normal opponent the attack would have severed the man in two right then and there… but the _Black Knight_ was no normal man. With a simple backhanded swing from his sword, the bandit's axe blade shattered to pieces. Vincent could only gape as the knight pulled his he enchanted blade back before running it through his chest.

 **(End Theme)**

Vincent violently coughed up blood as he lost his grip on what remained of his prized axe. He strained his body to look up at the Knight with hate filled eyes. "You… you'd never understand… He was all I had… You don't know…" Another violent cough. "What's it's like… to have your brother... taken from you…"

"...Don't get me started." With those final words, the _Black Knight_ swiftly pulled the blade out of the bandits body and sending out a final spray of blood.

" _Victor…_ " Vincent moaned with his last breath as he fell back into the snow, dying before he'd even hit the floor.

Those bandits that were left standing panicked and ran for the hills. The victor let them go; with their leaders dead and the remainder in disarray the group was as good as finished. Giving a final swipe of his sword, the _Black Knight_ rid his weapon of what blood remained before sheathing the blade. He then headed into the cave where he found Tiki gently feeding Henry the herbs he'd gathered.

"How's he doing?" he asked as calmly as possible to hide his worry, yet the young Manakete seemed to see through it as he knelt beside her.

"I'm doing okay," Henry said with a small smirk.

"...Don't scare me like that kid," the knight finally admitted.

"Heh, so you were worried about me…" he said weakly. "Maybe I should get sick more often, you're a lot nicer to me when I'm like this."

"Your funeral," the knight told him, but his tone indicated he was close to laughing with him. "The snow storm will probably blow over soon. We should rest up for when it does; I want to get to a town before the next one hits."

"I agree," Tiki said as she tried to curl up by the fire in her dress. The _Black Knight_ noticed that she'd given Henry the cloak for more warmth and hadn't taken it back, even if the worst of his sickness was likely behind him.

"...You could probably find some branches or something, it'd beat having to lay down on the rocks at least," the knight tried to convince. He saw that he was too late as Tiki had already appeared to have fallen asleep. "She's like a kid…"

He was about to turn and leave her there, but he couldn't convince himself to do so. Trying to give her some extra warmth, the knight removed his cape and gently laid it over the Manakete before sitting by the fire to give himself some warmth… yet the sight of Tiki's content smile escaped him entirely.

' _A man who fights so fiercely as a demon, yet shows such caring and gratitude towards those he's sworn to protect… Just who are you really Sir Knight?_ '

 _ **Author's Note**_

 _ **Hey guys, happy late May the Fourth (BIG Star Wars fan). I just want to address a few small things before taking you to the Omake. First and foremost, people have said that they want to move on from the Black Knight and go back to Ragna. To those hoping for that, it WILL happen. Just give me a few more chapters.**_

 _ **Like stated above, PVP CentralFiction is open starting tonight at 8 PM Pacific Standard Time and possibly next Friday at the same time. Come and stop by, all laggy connections are welcome, we'll just all learn to work with it. See you there!**_

 _Comradery_

"Here ya go, eat it while it's hot," Ragna said as he served a bowl of stew to Kellam who was the last person in line for the _Shepherds_ meals tent as usual. It was dinner for the Ylissean militia and after the day of training that they'd had everyone was looking forward to the meal since it was finally Ragna's turn to cook in the rotation (the even more eager to have his cooking since Sully had been in charge of lunch).

While Ragna was hesitant to admit it, he'd always enjoyed cooking for people who could appreciate the work that went into his meals. It always gave him satisfaction over hearing praise in the feedback from others, occasionally he was even blessed by someone who was completely amazed with his work. Of course…

"Ragna the Bloodedge, I must commend you on this feast you've prepared for us!" Bang Shishigami exclaimed as he approached, not even close to using his indoor voice.

Ragna didn't bother on hiding his groan, this was far from the first time something like this had happened. It hadn't been long since Bang had shown up in the world and had joined the _Shepherd's_ , but ever since he had he'd been nothing but his usual loud and obnoxious self. While everyone in the _Shepherds_ seemed to get along fine with him (even Lon'qu oddly enough), the ever irritable Ragna tried to stay his distance. Sure, it'd been fine when Bang had first shown up, but after a awhile Ragna was starting to get a little tired of his speeches for love and justice.

"The beef was prepared perfectly, never before had I enjoyed such a piece of meat with such soul poured into it's cooking!"

' _The cow it came from probably had plenty of soul too…_ ' Ragna thought bitterly. "L-look Bang, it's no problem. It's just cooking…"

"JUST cooking!?" Bang shouted. "Don't be absurd! That food was the greatest I've eaten since I've come to this world! I feel-Nay! I must repay my debt!"

"...You're being serious right now, aren't you?" Ragna questioned, a soft blush on his face as he saw the entirety of the Shepherd's snickering at the display. "Look Bang all I did was cook for the Shepherd's, there's seriously no need for you to be all over the moon on this. You'll be doing this yourself before long."

"Mayhaps…" Bang admitted, leading the Reaper to breath a sigh of relief. "Then I shall use that as my repayment! What is it you'd like me to make?"

"Huh!? That's not what I meant dammit!" Ragna shouted, causing even more of a scene as a few of his fellow shepherds began laughing at the two. "I dunno, just make whatever you can, anything works really."

"Nay, that is insufficient and a mockery of your good deed! I know! I shall grace the Shepherd's with the cooking of my homeland! I must prepare immediately!" With that the Ninja took off.

"Bang! Wait!" Ragna shouted. It was no good as Bang was out of the mess hall faster than a flash of lightning. "Dammit, doesn't he know that we don't have that kind of stuff here? ...Please, what am I worried about? He'll figure it out sooner or later."

"Ho there young madam, would you happen to know where I might find an Ikaruga Pufferfish?" Bang voice was heard from outside the mess hall. "Hm? Well a Pufferfish is a strange and wondrous creature of the deep! It is covered by spines to fearlessly protect it and it can inflate to over thrice its size!"

"...Or not," Ragna deadpanned miserably.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with BANG SHISHIGAMI!**_

 _ **Heh, I had some fun with that one. Anyways later guys. Ciao!**_


	28. Any Other Day

Well it appears I've finally come to a decision. Looks like this is going to be a small harem story. I know some of you didn't want this to happen, but I'm just going to have to ask that you bear with it. With some forethought I'll be able to make sure that none of the girls lose their characteristics in this kind of a relationship… in fact it might actually provide an interesting dynamic for interactions among the female cast and their children.

As far as which girls are going to be chosen… YOU THINK I'M GOING TO SPOIL THAT? WHO DO YOU THINK I AM!?

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Be sure you check in for the Omake at the end as always and friday at 8PM Pacific Time I'll be hosting an open _Central Fiction_ lobby again as well as live streaming on YouTube.

 _ **Chapter XXVIII: Any Other Day**_

"Well… How is he?" the _Black Knight_ demanded with crossed arms. He and Henry were currently inside of a cheap inn room. It wasn't anything too posh, but at the very least it was clean and would protect from the cold. A local doctor he'd found was looking over the dark mage to be sure there were no signs of his condition worsening while Tiki was out grabbing food and other supplies.

"It's challenging for me to even tell what was wrong with him in the first place," the doctor said as he adjusted his glasses. "You say he was stricken by the cold just last night? Impossible, no recovery could happen that quickly."

"...Tell me you didn't curse yourself on the way here just so you wouldn't worry us," the knight said with a groan.

"Nah, but I guess I could've done that last night, might've helped with the cold," Henry admitted with a small chuckle. "I dunno, maybe it had something to do with the herbs you gave me."

"Herbs you say? You must've been able to make a rare brew then," the doctor said as he took out a small journal. "Any possibility of remembering the exact species and proportions you used? I could make a powerful potion with your knowledge."

"If I remember I think it was three parts Dragon root, two parts Soft Stalk, and just a clumps of Aqua Leaf to round everything together," the _Black Knight_ told him. "I wasn't doing anything specific, I was too focused on making sure on making sure this guy here got it than looking for a miracle cure."

"I understand, I might have to end up doing some…" the doctor paused in his writings as he narrowed his eyes at his notes. "I'm sorry, but what's this _Aqua Leaf_ you were talking about? I'm afraid I don't know any herbs or plants by that name."

"...They're these little pieces of grass with green thistles on the top. Honestly it's a miracle that I found them, they're supposed to be delicate and I didn't think they could stand this kind of weather."

"Oh, you mean Green Mace? There are a few patches spread out here and there, but it's rather hard to come across," the doctor said as he wrote the plant's name down in his notes. "I've never heard it be called _Aqua Leaf_ before though."

"My mistake, what about him?" the _Black Knight_ demanded as he tried to change the subject.

"With his condition the only things I can prescribe are hot meals and a warm bed to rest in, there's little else that needs to be done," the doctor said as he gather up his supplies. "Come see me again if anything changes, though at this point this seems highly unlikely."

"If you say so," the knight said, dropping a few coins into the doctor's hand. "Thanks for the check up doc." With the healer gone, the enigma crossed his arms.

"Something wrong?" Henry asked before smirking. "Or are you trying to catch up with your required _brooding time_ since you fell behind when you actually bothered to care about me?"

' _With his condition I'll give him a pass for that one.'_ "Tiki's been gone for a while, it shouldn't be taking nearly this long to get food... I think she's gone and gotten herself lost."

"That's kind of a quick jump to a conclusion, anything to base that on or is it an intestine feeling?"

"That's _gut_ feeling. ...Let's just say I've had experience with someone who's known for getting lost in the most ridiculous ways you can think of," he told him before heading to the door. "I'll be back soon, just stay in that bed and don't do anything stupid."

"Ye of little faith much?" Henry muttered as the _Black Knight_ took his leave. "Annnnnnd I'm bored. Man, being bedridden when you're not really sick is the worst."

Once outside, the knight took to the streets and began his search for the green haired Manakete. As his eyes wandered from beneath his helm, he saw that the people of town were eyeing him with fear and mistrust, doing their damndest to keep their distance. This suited him well enough, the less people he had deal with currently the better.

' _Pretty decent sized town though_ ,' the _Black Knight_ thought as he continued to walk with his cape flapping behind him in the gentle winds. ' _Plenty of guards and tall wall to protect the city from Risen or Bandits… This place must've been one of the more protected ones against any attacks… Hm?_ '

The knight noticed a small crowd starting to form down the street as villagers passed by him to rush towards the gathering. Figuring this might be important, he himself headed that way only to find several of the villagers kneeling in respect.

"Please, I appreciate your offer, but there's no need to extend such hospitality," Tiki tried to tell the several men in white robes that were before her. The young manaketes hood had come down to reveal her eye catching green hair and her mystical pointed ears. Many of the white robed men in front of her were kneeling in respect, but it appeared the eldest among them was standing.

"Blessed voice, you must understand that all we wish to do is shelter you in your pilgrimage," the old Abbot tried to convince. "If our church is given the chance we would lay our lives on the line to assist a daughter of Lady Naga. We beg of you, allow us to guide you to your divine destination."

"...I'm afraid she already has a guide," the _Black Knight_ said as he finally stepped in, surprising clergy members and townsfolk alike. "Unless she's got something to say otherwise?"

"No, this has been my intention from the very beginning," Tiki said for everyone to hear, relieved that her guide had come to her apparent rescue.

"Please milady, reconsider!" the priest called out as the Tiki made her way out of the surprised crowd with the _Black Knight_. "I can't say with confidence that this man walks within Naga's divine light!"

"Good, it'd be too bright for me anyways," he muttered under his breath as he walked with the Manakete. "You weren't able to get the supplies?"

"I'm afraid I couldn't, the moment the wind blew my hood down I had people kneeling at my feet begging to be blessed. Then when the church caught wind of my travels there were rather insistent that I should travel only with them to the Exalted family."

"From now on Henry or I should do the shopping," the _Black Knight_ grumbled. "I don't need this to be a common occurrence and the last thing I want is for the church to do something drastic."

"Do you truly think that could be the case? I may be the _Voice_ , but I think the church men and women would know better than to attack my guide," Tiki said as she looked back at the priest who were minding their distance now.

"Regular men and women of the cloth won't be a problem, it's the fanatics that worry me," the enigma.

"Fanatics? In _Naga's_ order?" Tiki thought aloud. "You seem rather sure that they'd exist."

' _Didn't want to get into a debate, but letting it end here would suck in the long run_.' "It'd be naive to think that there weren't; optimistic, but naive. Every religion will have finatics no matter how noble they try to be, it's the way of the world. There are probably a few members of _Naga's_ religion that wished the last two wars had lasted until every Plegian was put six feet in the ground."

"Th-that may be true," Tiki admitted sadly as she thought back to what she'd heard about the last _Crusade_ to engulf the continent. "What about the Grimleal then? For a religion that worships the return of the fell dragon for the purpose of ending the world I find it hard to believe that many of them would wish that for ethical causes."

The _Black Knight_ couldn't argue with that, not by a long shot. "...True, but that's assuming that all of the members are there by choice." His expression under the helm turned dark as he thought back to a snarky woman from his past. "Many of them aren't even given a clear view to see the world." For such a heavy conversation, the _Black Knight_ hadn't expected to hear Tiki giggling. "Seriously, what is it with you today?"

"I'm just happy that I'm able to understand the man _beneath_ the armor a little better," she said to him with a smile. "You're far wiser than your tone would lead people to believe."

"Hmph, thanks… I think," he muttered, leading Tiki to giggle again. The two had almost made their way to the in before the _Black Knight_ saw the soldier escorted chariot in front of them that gave him pause. The chariot stopped before them and the noble inside came out, raising the knight's ire to new heights. " _Naga damn it…_ " This earned him a sowl from Tiki at the vanity in his language.

"Your reputation proceeds you, _Black Knight_ ," the noble said with a sweet, seductive smile on her lips. "I am Eliza of house Chamandure, tasked with protecting this town and its many inhabitants." Soldiers from her escort moved forward to stand between their lady and the enigmous knight. "I'd very much like it if the champion of the people would remove his helm so we could see the man that lies beneath."

"You'd have to find their champion first, I'm just a Risen and Bandit killer," the _Black Knight_ told her with little emotion in his words. "Let us pass."

"Are you commanding me? In my own city?" Eliza asked before pursing her lips, leaving the _Black Knight_ to groan. "You may have an air of mystery surrounding you, but it does not free you from the laws of man… I'll ask again; remove your helm."

"And I refuse, again," the _Black Knight_ said as her soldiers appeared to be readying themselves for combat beside her. "Don't do this, there's nothing you can gain by pissing me off."

"Such a vulgar tongue, are you really taking the people's interests to heart? You act you like you care for them, but the people don't even know the face you hide under all that armor."

' _If this woman knew who I was she'd be asking for more than just to see my face_ ,' the _Black Knight_ thought to himself before noticing that the lady of nobility was making her way forward without her guards. She instead stood in front of Tiki and the two ladies started harshly into the others eyes. _'Time like these I actually wish we had Henry's commentary to lighten the mood…_ '

"Apparently _Naga's Voice_ has been fooled just as easily as the rest of the peasants," Eliza said, causing the man beneath the black armor to narrow his eyes. "Then again what could we expect, calling you the _Voice_ doesn't leave any guarantee of a brain. Before Tiki could rebuke the claims, Eliza's arm shot out and gripped one of Tiki's breasts. "Unless you keep all of your thoughts in here."

"I beg your pardon!" the green haired Manakete shouted as she slapped the hand away, her face red with a mix of embarrassment and rage. The _Black Knight_ rolled his eyes, why did some women have to be like that? "Claim what you will of me, but I happen to consider myself an excellent judge of character and the _Black Knight_ has plenty… even amongst some of my deceased friends."

' _Deceased friends?'_ the _Black Knight_ thought before realizing that the proper thing to do at the moment would be to get between Eliza and his charge. Extending his left arm out he brought it between the two, not as a threat or for protection; merely giving a statement. "I'm afraid we won't be staying long enough for this to continue, we should be on our way."

"If you think I'm going to let you leave my city in one piece you're sorely mistaken," Eliza said as she snapped her fingers. Her men surrounding the carriage drew their weapons and slowly began to approach the _Black Knight_. "While you're within my walls you two are at my mercy," Eliza said as she slowly began to back away within the ranks of her men.

"Sir Knight... " Tiki began with a tone of authority.

"I won't kill them," he said in his defence. "I won't even need to draw my blade."

"So long we're clear on that," she said to him before raising an eyebrow, it was almost like she could _feel_ that he was smiling beneath his armor.

"Clear as crystal… Brace yourself."

"Brace my-UGH!?"

Tiki winced with pain as it took all of effort just to stay standing. An unknown form of energy covered the immediate area, trying to force the dragon woman to the ground. It wasn't just Tiki who was hit with it, all of Lady Chamandure's soldiers and even their horses were forced to their knees or straight to the ground. Eliza herself had a knee buried in the snow, covering the cloak she was were with its frigid touch. Only the source, the _Black Knight_ himself, remained fully standing.

"How the tables have turned, _masked freak_ ," he muttered to himself whimsically. "You all should go now, I'd hate for this to get any worse."

' _What the hell is he!?_ ' Eliza thought to herself enraged as she glanced around to the rest of her men. ' _I doubt there's a man in this kingdom that could stand a chance against them, even the Kahn's themselves might not be able to beat him!_ '

"Didn't you hear me? I told you to get out of here," the knight said as he opened the door to the inn and held it open for his lady to enter. Tiki was startled by the development, but eventually entered the building in an awkward manner. Eliza glared at the, but complied without a word as she gather her men and left with the carriage. The knight was about to enter the inn to follow after Tiki, but something in the air made him pause. Glancing the snow covered ground, he caught a few spots of yellow and smirked.

Back inside the inn room, the dragon woman had her arms crossed and her head down as she waited for her guide to finally come back inside. Her waiting was rewarded as the _Black Knight_ entered the room once more.

"So… did she lose her way?" Henry asked with a smirk, confusing Tiki.

"Not exactly, but it's time for us to get lost," he told them. "Staying in this town any longer than we have to is a stupid idea."

"But what about Henry's condition?" Tiki asked worriedly. "I don't want another repeat of last night…"

"Really? I wouldn't mind, Knight certainly took a turn for the better during that," Henry admitted with a gleeful smile.

"Shut up you idiot, or do you seriously want me to give you a reason to be bedridden?" the enigma asked with a groan. "We don't need to spend all day traveling, just far enough to where the won't find us easily. Without a snowstorm to worry about we can even make a decent shelter when we chose."

"I… I suppose we'll have no choice but to do that then," Tiki said in agreement.

"At least we managed to… wait, where are the supplies?"

"Supplies?" Tiki asked before her face became clouded with worry. "Sorry, I didn't make it to the shops before my hood fell… please forgive me."

"...Adding hunting to the list," the _Black Knight_ said humorlessly.

 _ **Shepherd's Barracks**_

"Seriously, what's with her?" an out of breath Gaius muttered to himself as he exited the training grounds. "First she asks if I want to train and then she nearly kills me in a sparring match! What Sully's trying to accomplish going live or die and lengthening her practice sessions I'll never know… Damn, so candy sounds pretty sweet right about now, and I'd say I've earned some."

The former thief made his way down the hallways of the barracks, heading toward his room so he could grab some gold, head into town, and replenish his stock of candy. What he hadn't counted on, as he walked though the halls was coming across the young redheaded mage.

"Gaius!" Ricken called with excitement. "Hey! You busy?"

"Not really kid," Gaius admitted, earning a miniature scowl from the mage for the use of the word 'kid'. "Just about to head into town and grab some more sweets. What's got you in such a good mood?"

"It's Ragna's sword! They finally got it fixed!" the young mage told him.

"That so?" Gaius thought aloud before smirking. "Guess I should take a look then, I owe him that much."

"Yeah, let's head over and take a look," Ricken said, with great enthusiasm.

Chuckling the thief followed him down the hallways into the Shepherd's break room. It was unoccupied, save for Stahl who was sitting on a couch gasping for air. On the center of the back wall was a mantle which held the recently repaired _Blood-Scythe_.

"Dang, it even looks exactly the same as before…" Gaius didn't need to finish the sentence, Ricken and Stahl had both been there that day. The thief then decided to address the green armored knight. "What's got you so out of breath?"

"I'm the poor sucker that had to carry that thing all the way from the forge and put it up there!" Stahl told him while still sweating from the effort. "How Ragna ever managed to use that thing the way he did is beyond me!"

"Well, you could say that a lot about the guy," Gaius admitted. "Even now he's still something of a mystery to us… By the way, who did the work on the sword?"

"My uncle, he's spent some time as a blacksmith so I asked him to look at the blade," Stahl said before shaking his head. "The thing wasn't even rusting, it was just covered in dried blood. My uncle did his best to make it clean, but he couldn't even recognize the material that the sword was made out of, and don't even get him started on the inner workings on the blade."

"Seriously? Wonder if glasses would have any clue… or if she could explain it to us in a way we'd understand," Gaius said, referring to Mirel. "Off topic, where's blue? Shouldn't he be here to get a good look at this thing?"

"I think I saw him with Robin," Ricken told him as he thought back to that morning. "I think I remember him saying that they were heading out to the fields."

"Seriously?" Gaius asked as he took a seat at the table and leaned back into the chair to make himself comfortable. "We're stuck here working our butts off while Chrom's _supposed_ to be handling paperwork, but instead he's going out with Robin on a date? I didn't figure blue to be the type to skip out on work like that."

"I don't think that's what Chrom was doing…" Ricken said with a worried tone that made Gaius and Stahl concerned. "Not with that dark look in his eyes."

 _ **Meanwhile -The Fields-**_

"Are we almost there?" the crowned prince asked, trying to keep his tone even as he walked through the fields surrounding Ylisstol.

"If the reports from Cordelia are still accurate we should be," Robin told him as she looked over the papers in his hand. "They should be just over this hill."

Chrom said nothing in response, merely giving a short and curt nod. Despite the clear and sunny weather the two were blessed with, the prince's mood almost made it seem like the two were trekking through rain soaked mud on their way to war. Robin was worried about her beloved's current attitude, but there was really nothing that she could think of doing at the moment. Eventually the two came to their destination.

"So there they are," Chrom said darkly as he stared upon the group of monsters before them; about sixteen _Risen_. None of the hellish abominations were mounted and very few of them were spell casters. Simply put, it was one of the weaker groups that appeared more often than most and would have to join another group to become a full on threat to the kingdom.

"So… what did you have in mind for an attack?" Robin asked sadly, already knowing the answer. Chrom said nothing, simply unsheathing _Falchion_. "...Why are you insisting on doing this by yourself? You know that you can rely on the others for help."

"...I need to stop living in Ragna's shadow," Chrom told her as he looked down at his sword. "All the time I've spent with him, it was clear who the better fighter between the two of us was… He could take a group of Risen like this out without his right eye and arm no problem. If I'm going to protect this kingdom, to protect the people I love… I need to tap into that kind of power."

"Liar," Robin said bluntly, surprising Chrom with her directness. "You've never felt that you've been in his shadow, not in any case. Not before he died, not after; you've always stood with him, shoulder to shoulder… This has nothing to do with him, it's about what happened this morning, isn't it?"

"Those… those bastards," Chrom said gripping his hand tightly as he grit his teeth. "It was her first day back in the courts, and they attacked her… We did everything we could to inform Emmeryn on the kingdom's condition, everything we could to prepare her for dealing with the nobility… but it wasn't enough. They made their points and walked over her's like it was nothing…"

"She just needs more time," the Tactician told him. "Though you have a point, I wasn't expecting resistance like this in the courts; they've become emboldened. And they were pushing far too hard for Emmeryn to make a public appearance again… and to search for a suitor."

"Over my dead body," Chrom dismissed. "She's not ready, how can she be? She still feels responsible for the war, and for Ragna… She's changed, and not at all for the better."

"So what do you propose we do?" Robin asked.

"For now we give it some time. At least she hasn't forgotten those she cares about. She's approved of several donations to orphanages and other measure to help the common folk… and from what I've heard she's working on repairing Ragna's coat personally."

"She's not the only one, nearly all of the women in the Shepherds seem to want to help," she said. "It's a step forward at least… so why are you here now?"

"Someone has to take care of the Risen and after the day I've had I just want to unleash all of my pent up aggression on _something_ ," he admitted. "It's not very becoming of anyone, least of all a prince; that's why you're the only one I can trust to see me like this."

 **(** _ **Cue**_ _Lust Sin_ **)**

"...I guess I can keep a secret," Robin told him with a sad smile as Chrom readied his blade. "I'll step in if you need me."

"Against this group, I'll be disappointed if I can't handle this myself," he muttered charging the _Risen_. The mindless lumbering creatures took notice of him only to late as Chrom's sword cleaved through a _Soldier_ classed monster, creating two perfect halves. The _Risen_ vanished in a dark cloud and a pathetic moan. An armored knight tried to impale Chrom with its sword, but the young prince deflected the attack with before impaling his own blade through the _Risen's_ head.

' _He wasn't joking at least_ , _it looks like he's got this group handedly,_ ' Robin thought as Chrom continued to cut through the undead hordes. The tactician then noticed a mage type that had snuck around to Chrom's blind spot. ' _No! And I'm too far to hit it with a spell!_ ' "CHROM!"

The young prince did nothing, merely letting the attack cast its fireball spell and hitting him dead in the back… only for Chrom to continue slashing the _Risen_ in front of him like nothing had happened.

' _He… he blocked out the spell's effects completely!_ ' Robin thought with wide eyes. _'True the spell may have been weak to start, but it doesn't even look like Chrom was even touched by it… In order to think of doing something like that you need to have a mental focus directed to stopping the magic's effects and only developed mages can use it effectively… h-how did Chrom find a way to do that?'_

The young blue-haired swordsman then spun in a full circle and cleaved through a majority of _Risen._ A soldier _Risen_ then threw it's javelin for Chrom's chest, but the prince merely brought his blade down and cleaved the spear into two halves. He then lunged leapt into the air with a forward spin, slashing the attacking Risen as he landed. The final _Risen_ of the group was an archen with its bow drawn on Chrom, but the rushed forward and cleaved through _Risen_ , arrow, and bow in a single strike.

' _I won't allow monsters like these to prey upon those too innocent to defend themselves,_ ' Chrom thought to himself. He then heard a bow twang and quickly moved his sword to deflect the arrow. The attacker was a _Risen_ mounted atop a nightmarish horse and wielding a bow. Strapped to the knight's side was a steel sword. The _Risen_ snarled as it shot off another arrow which Chrom sidestepped to avoid. ' _The one looks like the chief; the leader of this group of Risen. I can't try to catch this thing on foot, I'll have to wait until it uses up its arrows and then-_ '

Chrom was surprised as the bow knight changed tactics and instead headed straight for him with a bow drawn. Once it was close, it unleashed the arrow which was swiftly blocked by Chrom. The prince was about to counter the knight's attack, but with surprising accuracy the _Bow Knight_ drew its sword and slashed at the ground and sent a cloud of dust right into Chrom's eyes.

"CHROM!" Robin cried out as the _Bow Knight_ swung its sword with amazing ferocity and cleaved right through him. Robin's eyes widened as she watched, knowing that there'd be an eventual spray of blood… until Chrom's form waved and faded.

" **TOO SLOW!"**

Appearing on the other side on the knight in the span of an instant, Chrom roared as he cleaved the _Falchion_ upwards, first beheading the nightmarish mound before slashing though the _Risen_ at the torso. Not a sound was heard as both vanished back into darkness.

 _ **(End Theme)**_

Chrom let out a sigh of relief before sheathing his sword. That last attack had come too close for his liking, he considered himself lucky that he managed to get out of that attack unscathed. Turning his head, he saw his tactician watching him from a distance breathing heavily as she'd fallen to her knees. His eyes grew wide as he ran to her.

"Robin!" Chrom shouted as he ran towards his tactician. "What's wrong!?"

"I-It's nothing," Robin said as she continued to pant heavily. "F-For a second there… I-I thought I saw you die."

"Sorry to worry you like that, it's just a bit of a trick I picked up," Chrom said before smiling gently. "Please forgive me?"

 _ **BAM!**_

"GAH!"

Chrom stumbled back as he gripped the side of his head where Robin had struck him, his check already going numb. The force was enough to send him flying off his feet and land on his rear. As Robin made her way to her feet, Chrom felt very tiny as he watched his beloved staring down at him with cold, harsh eyes.

"No you idiot! I won't forgive you! First you call me out here just so you can show off without telling me a thing about what you've been doing to train, and then you make me think that you'd have died!? You're lucky I don't-!" Robin stopped her words as she realized Chrom was staring at her with eyes full of surprise, the wound she'd inflicted on him starting to swell painfully. "...Just don't do that EVER again."

"If you're that upset I promise," Chrom said with complete sincerity. "Never again for as long as I live." He winced as Robin hit him again, not as harsh as before, just a simple bop to the head.

"Don't say it like that you idiot," she sighed, leaving Chrom to only chuckle.

 _ **Later -Back in Regna Ferox-**_

"Well, camp's all put together, now all that's missing is big, dark, and moody."

Henry's comment did ring true; he and Tiki had just put the finishing touches on their campsite. They'd used branches to create a cover large enough to house all three of them, a fire pit had been made and was given the two heat, and the _Black Knight_ was currently off hunting for food.

"He should be back soon, I doubt he'd be gone for too long," Tiki reassured him. "Besides, even if there was trouble I doubt there'd be anything he wouldn't be able to handle."

"I guess… but there's one thing I've always wondered…"

"And what's that?" Tiki asked with curiosity.

"Knight's a pretty scary figure, even when he's not doing that whole brooding personality routine… What makes normal people think that they can take him on? Don't they find him imposing?"

' _I don't think Henry knows how imposing he can truly be,_ ' Tiki thought to herself as she remembered the dark knight's action when they were in the city that morning. "What about you? With all of your quips and japes it doesn't seem like you find him that imposing yourself."

"Who said I was normal?" Henry said with a creepy yet innocent smile. Tiki found little room to argue. "Plus, you saw what Knight's really like. I'm like his little brother, he's not about to hurt me or let anything hurt me no matter what I say."

"Even I have my limits," _the Black Knight_ said as he returned. Tiki and Henry stared at the game he'd managed to hunt; a large elk was draped across his shoulder, he carried a few rabbits by their ears, and the pouch he'd used to carry Henry's herbs the night previous was already filled with fresh berries while another pouch appeared to be filled with spices.

"Nya ha ha! Looks like we're having a feast tonight!" Henry said with glee.

"Hopefully we can eat it all, I hate the idea of wasting food," the knight said as he began skinning the elk. "Then again… we are feeding a dragon."

' _He's starting to have snarky comebacks now… is this a sign of progress?_ ' Tiki thought to herself before shaking her head. "In that case you should worry if you have enough, I happen to lose control of myself whenever I grow hungry."

"Trust me, you'd want to eat Henry first, he'd probably be easier to chew on."

"Hey!" the dark mage shouted before thinking to himself. "Would being eaten by a dragon be a cool way to die?"

"It'd be a unique one, I can say that much," the _Black Knight_ admitted as he finished tearing of the elk's hide with his gauntleted hands.

"Wouldn't your sword make that easier?" Tiki asked before noticing that the knight's scabbard was empty. "Where is your sword?"

"In a small pool of water, about five minutes to the north," he told her. "It's turning the place into hot spring right now."

"Wait… you mean you got to take a bath? Lucky!" Henry whined. "After all the constant traveling we've been doing I could really use one, I haven't had a bath since I met you knight."

"I could guess," he muttered. "Look if it's that big of a deal why don't you go take one now, I'm done with it."

"Wait… if you've got a bath ready, why not offer it to Tiki first, you've got to have some _courtesy._ "

"Easy, because then you'd know that I'd be in the bath," the _Black Knight_ told him plainly.

"...Knight, I don't know how hard this is gonna break your heart… but I don't swing that way," Henry told him, earning himself a snowball in the face.

"You know what I meant; everyone on the continent wants to know who I am under this armor, you're both included in that I take it."

"Nah… Well, maybe," Henry admitted. "I just want to know if those rumors about you being a possessed skeleton under all of that armor is true… if you're taking a bath that's one rumor debunked."

"You almost sound disappointed," Tiki said with a smirk. "Go ahead and take the next bath Henry, I'll help _big, dark, and moody_ here with the food."

"You two are teaming up against me? Hmph, typical." Knight lamented while Henry headed off for the waters. "Why'd you let him take the next bath; as time goes on my sword's going to be giving off less heat and you'll have to drag it back."

"Helping you with dinner is the least I can do with everything that you and Henry are doing for me. Hand me that rabbit."

"Here," the _Black Knight_ said as he handed her the caught quarry. While he continued his work on the elk and gathered stones to rest over the fire. As he did so, he was impressed to see the pace and speed that Tiki was working at. "You act like you've done this before… not surprising with how long you've been alive."

"Trust me, the first time I tried doing this the meat was completely shredded," Tiki said before giggling. "Mar-Mar told me that the _mincemeat_ was a good idea for cooking."

"Mar-mar?" the _Black Knight_ questioned, only realizing too late that he'd asked aloud. Tiki's expression seemed to turn solemn almost instantly. "...Sorry."

"It's not your fault; sometimes I can't help but think about him," she said with a sad smile. "Marth was… special."

"The Hero King?"

"The very same… He was kind, he cared about his companions, and he didn't want a single life to be spent just to save his... He was the greatest friend you could ask for."

"...You loved him?" he asked as he began placing meet over the fire. The knight knew he was pressing his limits, but he almost felt like he needed to know more.

"Yes… though it was clear his heart belonged to another," Tiki said before smirking. "You don't seem to know your history."

"...I tend to dwell on my own past way too much, not much room to dwell on history's." The knight then reached inside his pouch and gently sprinkled herbs over the meat.

"Spicing the food?" Tiki asked.

"Yeah, since we're not tenderizing it the spices should help the meat go down a little easier," he explained. "It's nothing special, just a little of my own personal blend."

"Where'd you learn this?" Tiki asked. "You even had a good idea of what herbs to use to heal Henry last night."

"My master, he taught me all about this," the knight explained. "Not much to say about the guy strangely. He never seemed to be the type to give a straight answer to anything, but he was pretty wise… and patient. When I first started cooking I must've burned dinner at least a dozen times."

"Then you started preparing food properly?" Tiki asked.

"No, then everything I made was stone cold," the _Black Knight_ told her. "I was about to give up, but then my master told me I could only eat what I cooked… I guess it ended up being enough motivation for me." The knight then took a few berries out of the pouch and crushed them, spreading their juices over the meat. When he was done he noticed one of the berries still in his hand. "Hey, catch."

He casually tossed the berry to the Manakete and Tiki was quick enough to catch the fruit between her teeth. The knight gave a chuckle of approval as she ate it, giving the Manakete an idea. "Hey let's see if you can do it."

"That's… not a great idea, you'd have to get it through my helm's opening."

"I'm a better shot than you'd give me credit for, Sir Knight," Tiki declared proudly as she took a few berries out of the pouch. The knight rolled his eyes beneath his helm as he waited for Tiki to make her first shot. Her berry sailed through the air for a short distance before entering the helm's opening, causing the knight to lurch back slightly. "You see?"

"Not really with a damn berry in my eye," he swore only leaving Tiki to burst out laughing. ' _She really is like a child sometimes… Though, I guess I don't really mind._ '

Not long after the food had finished cooking Henry returned to the camp grounds from his bath, clearly feeling refreshed from the hot water. Tiki had already finished her portion of dinner, so she excused herself for her turn in the man made hot springs. Henry told her to get in while it was still hot, grabbed a portion of meet and contently took a seat under a tree.

"Aren't you going to start eating, Knight?" Henry asked as the knight simply crossed his arms and left the food on the dying fire.

"I'll eat later, not exactly feeling hungry now," he told Henry as he continued to stoke the fire.

"If you say so… You know Tiki's heading for the baths."

"I'm aware; she just left." the knight responded evenly, not sure where this was going.

"So… aren't you going to join her? Nya ha ha!"

The _Black Knight_ abruptly froze in his work as Henry continued to cackle. The enigma let out a low growl before grabbing one of the stones from the fire pit and hurling it at the tree, leaving it to dump snow all over the dark mage, burying him completely.

"Knight!" Henry called from beneath the snow. "I was joking! Kniiiiight!"

" _Yare yare daze…_ " the _Black Knight_ muttered to himself, still somewhat fed up with Henry's antics.

 _ **Author's Note**_

 _ **So more filler here… I guess I enjoyed writing this chapter at least… Anyways, like I said give me just a few more chapters and I'll be done with THIS section of filler… Doesn't the three year time gap technically count as more filler? Anyways, here's you Omake.**_

 _ **Another Sleepless Night**_

"Damn, this town's a lot bigger than I'd thought it'd be. Where the hell is that tome shop?" Ragna the Bloodedge was traveling by his lonesome as he searched through the small tome that the Shepherd's had decided to stay in for a short time.

"Is that really him?" came a whisper that Ragna barely managed to hear from a few meter away.

"It matches the rumors about him perfectly! Snow white hair, a crimson red coat, a massive blade, and a red and green eyes that can see in your soul!"

Turning to where the whispers had come from, the rumored Reaper eyes landed on a small group of village maidens. Noticing they were the subject of his gaze, the young ladies blushed and giggled to themselves leaving Ragna to let out a low groan. Truth to be told, he'd be lying if he said that he hated this kind of attention; it was certainly a few steps up from being scorned, hated, and feared like he'd been back in his old world. Thing was there was a time and a place… and if recent events were anything to go off of now was definitely a _wrong_ time.

' _Still, they could help me find that magic shop, beats spending an hour wandering around town,_ ' Ragna thought to himself before he glanced around to be sure. There didn't seem to be anything out of place. Shrugging he headed over towards the group of girls, all of which only seemed to giggle harder as he approached. "Hey, do any of you know where I can find a tome shop?"

"The tome shop? You practice magic too?" one of the girls asked before giggling. "The rumors didn't say you were smart as well."

' _They wouldn't be right if they did,_ ' Ragna thought glumly. "So do ya know where it is or not?"

"I-I know where it is," one blushing young maiden told him. "I-I can take you there if you want."

"No thanks, I'm just trying to get some directions," Ragna turned down, checking over his shoulder once more for good measure.

"Aw, but that sounds so boring," another maiden said to him with sultry grin on her face, one that Ragna was starting to see more and more as the rumors regarding him spread further. "I know a good restaurant in town. Maybe we can go there after… I… show…"

' _It begins_ ,' Ragna thought bitterly as he noticed the woman was glancing behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he took notice of the young silver haired woman in a white cloak and a grey jumpsuit with an eyepatch over her right eye and the smile of a demon plastered over her face slowly walking towards him and the girls.

"If I were you I'd run now," Ragna warned the girls. Sweating nervously, all of them took off running for the hills and left him to stop the Murakumo unit from going on a yandere style rampage. "Nu, you seriously can't keep doing this."

"But Raaaaaagna," Nu whined sadly. "You were breaking Nu's heart flirting with those girls, you big meany."

"Yeah, and you'd have broken their effing necks," Ragna told her. "And for the record I was asking them were to find the magic shop, NOT flirting."

"Then why didn't you come to Nu? We could find the shop together!" Nu said happily before lunging at Ragna. The ill prepared Reaper could do nothing as the young girl landed onto his chest and latched her arms and legs around him.

"Nu! Get offa me! Nu! We're in public for god's sake!" Ragna shouted as a few townspeople stared at the scene in front of them. A well placed glare from the Reaper was enough to scare most of them off, but Nu refused to let go. "Nu seriously, get off."

"Aw c'mon Ragna," Nu said before her gaze turned the creepiness factor up to 13 (because eleven out of ten isn't enough). "Why don't you take that big sword of yours and put it inside of Nu?"

"WAY too specific!" Ragna shouted as he continued to shake Nu off of. "That's it! Barrier burst!" A golden burst of energy suddenly emitted around the Reaper and sent Nu flying off of him. The young girl gave a short shout of surprise before landing on her rear on the ground in front of him. "Seriously Nu, cut the crap already!"

"Aw… Ragna's embarrassed," Nu said, which wasn't entirely untrue. "Oh well, Nu will just have to be patient." Her gaze then turned creepy as her voice became so quiet that only the Reaper could hear her. "Just come find Nu when you're ready to become one with her… I'll be waiting."

"Don't hold your breath, that's not about to happen," Ragna denied as bluntly as he could put it. Nu didn't say anything she merely smiled as he walked off… which left Ragna wondering how she got around so easily if she was constantly going barefoot everywhere.

"Damn that chick is unsettling… I can't tell if she's still trying to kill me, if she's trying to sleep with me, or if it's some perverse mix of the two… There goes any chance of sleeping soundly for me tonight."

 _ **Support Rank C obtained with Nu-13**_

 _ **That's this chapter, see you tonight at 8 guys! Ciao!**_


	29. Two Month Trial

_**Two Month Trial**_

Hey guys, Storm VII here with a bit of a new update. So as you've noticed, I've been alternating between my stories and doing a chapter of something different every few weeks. While this is working out well enough, I can't help but feel that most of my stories aren't making much progress storywise and I have BIG things planned down the line for each of them.

As such, I am going to be putting most my stories ON HOLD for Two Months. NONE of these stories will be canceled (each has a VERY active following), but I will be dedicating my time to one story which will be voted upon.

Here's how this vote will work; you all get two votes to officially so that even if you don't get you first pick, you can still have a chance to take the second. This poll will be open until FRIDAY where I'll find the winner. The winner will have almost all of my chapters dedicated to that story for the next two months, after which we'll vote again to see if I should continue this, or if I should go back to the old method of alternating.

If a chapter isn't out that week, I'll try to post one of the RWBY short stories (A Grim Reaper and A Cookie Reaper) or a chapter Rebirth of Azure, which I sometimes work on when I'm free just for kicks. So… here are your choices.

 _A Reaper's Awakening (Ragna in Fire Emblem Awakening)_

 _A Reaper's Game (Ragna in Sword Art Online)_

 _Loss, Redemption, Revenge (A twist on the BlazBlue world where Ragna is trained by Hakumen)_

 _Azure Guilt (Ragna and Sol Badguy team up in the Crusades)_

 _The Grim Reaper and the Beastkin (Ragna x Makoto Post War AU Fic)_

 _Azure Throne (Dark Ages with all of the BlazBlue cast)_

 _A Reaper's Soul (Ragna in Soul Eater (anime version)_

 _Bloodedge of Fairy Tail (Ragna in… well you get it)_

Like I said, the Poll will be up until 5PM Pacific time on Friday at which I'll announce the winner. Take Care Everyone! May the best story win!


	30. Path's Found Path's Walked

_**Chapter XXIX**_

 _ **Path's Found; Path's Walked**_

The bright sun had just hit its peak over the fair continent of Ylisse, promoting clear skies and fair weather. Many of the kingdom's citizens were able to enjoy this above average forecast; the farmers could work through a temperature that was neither too hot nor too cool, their children played in the fields with one another and caused minimal trouble, the nobles were off enjoy a picnic or other form of activity in the countryside, and even the most shut in of scholars had decided that they could afford to read outside on such a fine day. There was one person who was not outside on such a fine day, the lady in charge of the kingdom, Exalt Emmeryn herself.

While the other citizens of the kingdom played in the sun, their leader had shut herself in her late father's study and had barely moved from her seat at his desk. Several crumpled pieces of parchment littered the floor and two off the ink wells on said desk had been completely emptied in Emmeryn's usage as she wrote tirelessly, completely consumed with the task that laid before her. Unsatisfied with what she had written she shook her head and crumpled yet another piece of parchment. There was then a collection raps on the door to the study as she was about to start from the beginning once more.

"Emm? Are you in here?" It was Chrom's voice, worry clearly showing in his tone though Emmeryn rather wished it hadn't been there at all.

"Come in," she told him rather half-heartedly. The door opened, revealing the middle sibling of the three. Chrom took a long look at the parchment on the floor before returning his gaze to his elder sister and her ink stained hands. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

"I… I was going to invite you out to the fields for a picnic," the young prince explained. "Robin and I were about to head out and enjoy the weather ourselves and we wanted to know if you wanted to come with us."

"...You really don't have a romantic bone in your body, do you?" Emmeryn responded with a warm yet playful smile at her younger brother who cringed slightly. "It's obvious that Robin would want to spend some time with you Chrom… just the two of you."

"He-Hey, I'm not that dense," he tried to tell her as his elder sibling giggled. "She was the one who had suggested it… Emmeryn, we're _both_ worried about you. You've spent all day holed up in this office without telling me anything, what are you even writing?"

"A speech," Emmeryn told herself. Chrom narrowed his eyes, that wasn't what he'd been expecting nor what he'd hoped for. "I know that you detest what happened in court yesterday, but they did bring up a fair point. An address to the people after the war is deserved and long overdue, no matter how short the conflict may have been."

"And you're writing the speech yourself?" Chrom asked with skepticism. "Emm, we have many qualified people to help you, you don't need to do this alone."

"I'm not too prideful to deny help Chrom, I think you would fit that description better than myself," she told him. Chrom, of course, couldn't argue with her wisdom. "This however… this is more of a personal test. To make sure I still have the ability to lead Ylisse."

"I'm not quite sure that I follow," he admitted.

"Both of us remember very little of our father, aside from what everyone knows and criticizes him for. One thing that they never seem to remember was his ability as a speaker. He was never one to have others write speeches for him, many times he'd hardly write a script to address the people and spoke purely from the heart… While he might have fallen to madness, he was always a powerful speaker, able to raise the moral and spirit of the people."

"You've been a powerful speaker yourself, don't forget what you managed to do after the _Blood Crusade_ ended; your speeches to the masses even at such a young age were what allowed the people to forgive us with time… Without you to lead us, I don't want to think about where we'd be."

"Perhaps, but I have been out of politics for too long and I haven't contributed to Ylisse's restoration efforts as I might've liked… This is merely a trial to ensure that I am able to lead once more, something to practice my skills and reignite my flame. I promise Chrom, if I ever have _any_ doubt in this speech I'll go to you for help the first sign I have."

"So long as you're sure…" Chrom relented with a sigh. "On a side note, how long do we have before the address?"

"Two weeks," Emmeryn told him. "The Nobility is even trying to spread the word and aid in support, though I can't confidently say they're all doing this for selfless reasons… perhaps a few, but certainly not all."

"So we've got time at least," he noted. "Speaking of which we've gotten a letter from the Kahns, apparently they're to be paying us a visit rather soon. I think Basilio wrote the letter though; it's trying to blame the sudden departure on Flavia."

"That certainly sounds like the two of them," the Exalt agreed with a smile. "It will be good to see both of them, but shouldn't they remain in Regna Ferox? A land without its ruler can lead to a dangerous situation, more so with the _Risen_ …"

"Actually, the number of reported Risen have reached an all-time low in all three of the kingdoms," the blue haired prince informed as he thought back to the report he had read a few days prior. "Unless there's a massive hoard of them hiding somewhere we've got little to worry about and the town guards have been able to keep the weaker threats contained. Not to mention if that last report's to be believed, the _Black Knight_ is also in the north."

"The… _Black Knight?_ " Emmeryn repeated in confusion. "You mean the figure from the Tellius lores?"

"Hm? Oh, now I remember that I haven't told you about him yet. It's been mostly rumors at this point, but if they're to be believe it would appear that a powerful figure donning armor completely identical to that of the figure from legend has appeared. We first got word of him from an ally of ours in Plegia and she told use that he's been eliminating large hordes of _Risen_ , almost like he has a strange vendetta against them."

"Is that right?" Emmeryn questioned as she thought back. "I don't think this was covered during yesterday's meeting, and it very much sounds like something that should have been."

"...Well that's because for now we're trying to keep the nobles uninformed of the knight for as long as we can," Chrom told her. "Robin and I agreed that if we let the nobles know about the knight then no matter what we tell them they could attempt something drastic. For now, we're best off staying away and gathering any information that presents itself to us."

"I see," Emmeryn said, glad to see that the two had thought this approach through. "You should be going Chrom, Robin's most likely been waiting for you for quite some time already."

"Hey, she told me _not_ to hurry because she'd be getting ready," the prince told her with a sigh. "...Don't overwork yourself, understand?" Emmeryn didn't speak, she merely nodded as she began writing once more. Impressed once more by his sister's dedication to her work, Chrom took this as a sign of recovery and left the study. "Hope she's going to be okay…"

"As do I," came an unexpected voice from the other end of the hall.

Standing against the wall at attention was Phila, the former leader of Ylisse's Pegasus knights. After the damage she'd taken during the rescue of Emmeryn from Plegia, she now had several scars on her face and was forced to wear an eyepatch to cover her ruined left eye. After the damage she had taken and the death of her Pegasus, she had stepped down as leader of the pegasus knights (who currently had shared leadership between Cordelia and Sumia) and had instead become a member of the castle guard.

"Phila," Chrom acknowledged. "It's been a while since I've had the chance to speak with you… How are you holding up?"

"Well enough your lordship," Phila told Chrom in a very dignified manner. "My job as of late has been uneventful, but I suppose that's as much as I could hope for."

"As long as there aren't any attacks against the castle or Emmeryn I can continue to stay hopeful," Chrom told her. "What about when you're off duty? Any problems?"

"A few," Phila admitted. "It's been a tad difficult without proper depth perception, but I've been managing thus far and my family's been supportive of my efforts to heal. There really is little else that can be said."

"Well don't push yourself too hard, you're a dear friend and ally of the crown, it would sadden everyone greatly if we were to lose you for real," Chrom said thinking back to the pegasus knights they had lost in the rescue attempt."

"I will do my best to stay in good health," Phila assured him. "Don't worry, the largest danger on this job is becoming bored and complacent and I've already had enough experience with guard duty to know how to avoid that."

"That's all I'm asking," the prince told her. "Sorry to leave abruptly, but I'm afraid I have separate plans to get to."

"I understand, say hello to your tactician for me if you remember," Phila told him.

"I… I'll be sure to say hello to Robin, but how did you know I was meeting her?" Chrom asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Much as I detest paying attention to such things, I have heard a few of the noble ladies gossiping about the two of you," Phila told him, causing a light blush to appear on Chrom's face. "A fair few of them are disappointed that it appears you've already made some form of a commitment to another woman while the women already in relationships seem to think that you make a cute couple."

"As long as that's the extent of their gossiping I really don't give a damn either way," he told her, feeling somewhat vindicated to use harsher language. "Until next time then."

"Until then," Phila agreed as Chrom made his way off to his date.

 _-Ylisse_ _Castle Dressing Chambers-_

"I still don't understand why you both are making such a big deal of this," Robin said as her two _helpers_ examined the plethora of dresses they had to choose from. "Can't I just wear my Tactician coat? That seems to fit me the best in the first place."

"I know, but these dresses would look great on you, I just know it!" Lissa exclaimed with an eager smile on her face. "Trust me, when you put this on and show up to the picnic, you're going to knock the socks off of Chrom!"

"I doubt it, I think he'd be same with me no matter what I wore," Ylisse's tactician denied as she scoured the room to see where Lissa had hid her prized coat. "Come on, we all know that Chrom doesn't care anything about these things."

"Well he should!" the princess said with a large pout. "Chrom needs to learn that when a lady dresses up it for an important occasion she deserves a compliment and to be treated like royalty!"

"But I don't care about those things," Robin told her with a sigh.

"Well you're going to need to start caring," Olivia told her as she looked through the dresses before picking one up and putting against Robin to see if she'd look good in it. She would, but the dancer knew they could do better. "Like it or not, Chrom's royalty and the rest of the nobility is going to start paying special attention to the two of you, more so that you don't come from a noble house yourself. As of right now they see you as a flawless and undefeated tactician; they're _trying_ to find something wrong with you."

"Flawless? I'm anything but," Robin told her friends. "Everyone has their fair share of mistakes and I've made more than a few, even with what little memory I have."

"No one is always flawless, but the nobility tries to show that they are, especially in public," Olivia told her friend remembering a few things that she'd been told by Flavia and Basilio a while back. "If you were already a noble they wouldn't care nearly as much, but because you're being courted by someone of a higher class they treat this as a form of entertainment."

"There's not going to be anyone to see us!" Robin exclaimed at the situation. "The only people going to the picnic are Chrom, possibly Emmeryn, and myself. I doubt either of them are going to care what kind of dress I wear."

"Then we can use this as a chance to experiment and find what kind of dress you're going to be wearing in the future," Lissa said as she practically thrust a dress into Robin's hands. "Come on, everyone already thinks that you look cute wearing you tactician's garb, this is your chance to really wow them!"

"...If I have to," Robin sighed as she took the dress and went behind the changing panels. ' _I certainly hope that Chrom_ _appreciates what I'm going through for his sake…_ '

"Besides, think of this as a trial for your wedding dress," Lissa suggested, leaving the tactician happy that she'd already hidden herself as not to show the massive blush on her face.

"Lissa!" Olivia exclaimed. "It's a bit early to be thinking about that."

"What? I don't think Robin's against the idea at all," Lissa said as Robin's blush only seemed to grow. "Plus I think it'd be awesome to have another girl in the family, can't imagine what ladies night would be for all of us."

' _She's… she's just showing her support… in her own unique way,_ ' Robin tried to tell herself as she slipped into her dress. ' _That was a lot harder than I thought it'd be, at least I look…'_ "LISSA!"

"What's wrong?" the young princess asked as Robin came out from behind the changing area. "Th-th-that dress…"

"You really thought I could wear something like this!?" Robin shouted angrily, which was rare by she was never one to lose her temper with anyone except for Chrom. Her dress though gave her plenty of reason to be though, lumps of the dress were placed in awkward angles, it was far too tight on her chest while too loose on her back, and the petticoats were uncommonly frilly, even for a noble lady.

"Um… Robin?" Olivia began nervously. The tactician glared at her harshly and caused the dancer to return to her meeker side for a moment before regaining her composure. "M-Maybe it would help if you didn't put the dress on backwards..." Robin's face blanched. "...Or inside out."

"...Give me my coat back," she commanded, putting her foot down on the whole escapade. Lissa and Olivia glanced at each other and silently agreed that they leave this to a more experienced hand.

 _ **Later -The Fields-**_

Chrom tried to relax himself as he sat upon blanket he had set out for Robin and himself to enjoy their picnic upon once she arrived. The young prince knew that this was just a small outing between them and that there was very little to actually concern himself with, still he couldn't help but think that he'd do something stupid in front of Robin like he normally did. Impressing someone intentionally had never been his strong suit and he knew that she wasn't the type to be impressed easily. Normally he wouldn't care about making sure that he set a good image forth, but Robin was different, she'd begun taking up nearly all of his thoughts. When he was signing papers he'd sometimes imagine Robin giving her input on them, when he was practicing his sword work he imagined Robin nearby practicing her magic, whenever he bathed… he remembered that he'd get pelted in the face by her projectiles if she were with him.

"You weren't waiting long were you?" came Robin's voice, snapping Chrom out of his thoughts as he turned to look at the woman of his dreams (quite literally). Robin was wearing her regular tactician's coat and had a large tome underneath her arm. "Sorry that I'm not dressed up."

"You might've gotten a dress dirty anyways," Chrom told her as he looked the tome she was carrying. "A book on tactics?"

"Actually it's a novel that I've been wanting to read," Robin told him before showing him the cover; _The Golden Knight and Diamond Sheath_. "I know I should've hurried, but the bookstore where I ordered this book was on the way so I just had to stop by and see if it had arrived."

"Oh, so you've been waiting to get to it then," Chrom thought, knowing how absorbed in something Robin could be. "You want to read a chapter or two?"

"Eh? But then I'd just be ignoring you and our food would go to waste," Robin reminded him.

"Food's not going anywhere," Chrom told her. "Sides, I can wait if you really… Actually, you think you could read it aloud?"

"Out loud?" Robin repeated with a slight blush. "I… I'm probably not that good of a storyteller… And you'd probably find this boring…"

"On the contrary, it's been forever since I managed to enjoy a good novel," he assured. "All this time I've wanted to read _something_ other than all of the reports I've been handed I've just never had the time and I know you're an avid reader, spending time with one another and managing to enjoy a book while we're at it? Sounds perfect to me."

"Well…" Robin began before smiling with the slight blush still on her face. "I'll read us a few of the first chapters, then we can break for lunch and talk about the story if you want."

"Lead on oh teller of tales," Chrom told her playfully before laying on the blanket with his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky. Little did the two realize that they weren't alone.

"Heh, didn't think that bonehead would have a mind for romance like that," Sully noted aloud with a chuckle.

"Indeed, I wager we've both underestimated our captain and his capacity for intimate connections," Miriel noted. "This warrants further research on my behalf."

"Hey… Don't spy on them _too_ closely, otherwise people are going to start saying things behind your back," Sully tried to remind.

"It'd be better if neither of you were spying at all," a sudden voice came from behind the two. While Mirel turned calmly, Sully had to bite her tongue to keep from swearing and blowing their cover. Libra let out a sigh at their behavior. "Mind telling me what the two of you are doing here?"

"Heard Chrom was taking Robin for a little outing, so specs and I decided to make a small bet," Sully informed. "I bet that by the end of the date they were going to kiss, those two have been getting more lovey-dovey as the days go on."

"I have taken the opposite side on this wager," Mirel explained. "I determine no physical benefit for either of them in connecting their lips, much less reason for such a display to exist."

"Betting on someone's love life seems like a rather low moral road for the two of you to take," Libra lamented. "What did the two of you wager?"

"Bragging rights," the two answered in unison.

"I see…" Libra said with a large sweat drop besides his head.

"Hey, if you're so high and mighty with this whole love and privacy thing then why'd you come here in the first place?" Sully questioned as the two continued to spy upon the royal couple.

"I was enjoying a walk after my day of prayer when I noticed the two of you," Libra explained to them. "Off topic… do you know what that is over there?"

"Over… there?" Sully repeated as she looked to were Libra had gestured. "The hell?"

Across the fields was a small wooden stand that had been set up just inside the tree line on the edge of the field. Surrounding the wooden stand was an odd collection of people, all of them were peering at the two from the tree line. Nobles and merchants were using their telescope to get a better view while the more common people had to strain to get a close look at the two. On the stand however…

"Place your bets! Come and place your bets on the romantic outcome of these two!" a beaming red-haired merchant called out as many people made their way towards her with betting tickets. "Will the two share an exchange of kissing? Will Robin smack our young prince somewhere in our date? Will the food go cold by the time she finishes reading to him? Place your bets!" Anna couldn't stop smiling, know her luck and business expertise she knew she'd make a _killing_ here.

"High and almighty Naga please forgive this merchant and her greed, she knows not what she does…" Libra prayed with pity.

 _-Regna Ferox-_

"Hey oaf, move over and give me some room to breathe," Flavia demanded from her seat in their carriage.

"I'll ride on one of our spare horses if it's too tight in here for you," Basilio offered from beside her. "It's cramped enough having to normally sit in one of these things. You can have this to yourself if you want."

"What and be left with them on my own?" the ruling Kahn said, gesturing to the pair that sat across from the two. "I might be able to take a sound beating, but that doesn't mean that I'm a voluntary masochist."

"Yeah, but I'll be damned if I'm the Kahn suckered into watching 'em."

"You're both aware that we can hear you?" Eliza Chamandure questioned with a slight pang of annoyance.

"Of course we're aware; we want you both to know that we don't want to be here with the two of you," Flavia responded with a dismissive wave.

"My Lord and Lady," began one cautious and heavily scarred Count Tristan. "Might I ask why, if you don't find any pleasure in our company, did you decide to bring us along?"

"To keep the both of you from doing something reckless and stupid," Flavia said with a proper scowl. "You've both showed us that you can't make even the most rational of decisions when we're not looking so we've left your cities with more capable individuals."

"You-You told us this was a vacation for our service to Regna Ferox!" Eliza exclaimed.

"Must've misspoken, it's for disservice to the realm," Basilio told them.

"Disservice! I've done no such thing!" Eliza exclaimed.

"Then what do you call the threats you made to our enigmatic friend the _Black Knight_?" Flavia questioned humorlessly, the color draining from Eliza's face. "You're lucky that you managed to escape with your life, what would you have done if he actually drawn his sword against you and your town guard? You'd have been slaughtered like sheep."

"I already know of Eliza's mistakes," Count Tristan interjected. "But why am I being brought here? I've done nothing against the _Black Knight_ that would provoke him!"

"No, but you would've… Actually, you were about to," Basilio told as Tristan grimaced in pain. "We got word that you were organizing your men and a band of mercenaries to challenge our so-called enigma, so we _invited_ you to come with us so we wouldn't have _another_ crisis while we were out of the kingdom."

"Wh-where do you hear that?" Tristan demanded angrily.

"From your own advisor; he wrote to us about it in a letter," the West Kahn explained gruffly. "And before you think about punishing him, he wrote to us asking specifically that you wouldn't receive any harsh penance. He's looking out for you pretty well, _Naga_ or _Grima_ knows why he's so loyal."

"In any case, you've won a free trip south to escape the snow, so quit moaning about it and enjoy yourselves," Flavia told the two bluntly be looking slightly crestfallen. "At least a certain someone won't be there to give you a beating…"

"Flavia?" Basilio questioned from beside her.

"It's nothing merely thinking back to someone," she told him, though it was quite apparent to her fellow Khan whom she was referring to. Had he been about to call her out on that, he never got the chance as the cart carrying the two came to a sudden halt. "What's going on? Why have we stopped?" The clang of metal upon metal could be heard from a distance as well as nearly inaudible snarls and groans. "Report!"

"Milady!" a cavalier man said as he rode his mount right beside the carriage carrying the nobles. "We've seemed to have neared a battlefield, with the weapons strewn across the battlefield lacking the bodies of their owners. We believe that the Risen may have found their next victim. We're ready to either proceed around or lend our aid, awaiting your orders."

"Let's go and assess the situation," Flavia told him. "Ready me a horse and we'll see how much help we could be with the numbers we lack. If need be, prepare to carry off any survivors depending on how dire the situation is."

"Yes my lady," the guard said as he hurried off.

"Finally deciding to ditch me?" Basilio asked gruffly as Flavia flung the door open. "You always have all the fun."

"True, but then again you were doing the exact same thing when you were ruling Kahn," Flavia retorted with a smirk before exiting the carriage and closing the door.

"Hard to tell if she's just doing this to spite me or if she's holding a grudge," Basilio noted with a small chuckle before realizing something odd. "Why can't I hear the fighting anymore?"

 _-Outside_ -

"What in the hell is this?"

To say that Flavia and her guards were awestruck by the display before them would have been a clear understatement. Countless weapons littered the battlefield, some in large piles while others lay impaled in the ground, like a massive cemetery for fallen warriors. Not a single body human or otherwise decorated the ground, leaving everyone to jump to the logical conclusion. Standing in the middle of this with a sword impaled before him in the snow-covered ground stood the legendary _Black Knight_ , his cape once more flowing magnificently in the wind. Standing behind him was both the travelling dark mage and the _Voice of Naga_ that she'd heard about.

"Kahn Flavia," the knight spoke, his helmet making his voice sound strangely ethereal. "An honor to meet you at last."

"Knight? Why the heck are you-?" Henry was about to ask before, unexpectedly getting jolted by a shock of electricity that seemed to spring out of the ground. "Hey!"

"The infamous _Black Knight_ ," Kahn Flavia began before gesturing to the battlefield. "Your reputation precedes you."

"Please, I can't imagine half of what they say is true," he responded reservedly. "Though I have heard a fair few tales of yourself." Flavia gave a smug grin at this.

"Seriously, is he flirting with her or is he just that bad at acting polite?" Henry whispered to Tiki from behind the large enigma.

"Almost certainly the latter," Tiki readily responded with a slight deadpan. "Him? Intentionally flirting?"

"You got a point, I mean… wait, why _intentional_ flirting?" That was when Henry received his second form of punishment that minute, a strong elbow to the ribs from the Manaketee. "Ow!"

"I see you're kept in lively company at least," Flavia told him before her expression turned serious. "Might I ask what you are doing out here?"

"Slaying the Risen as I come across them as you can see," he told her with a simple gesture with his left arm. "Also, hoping to guide the _Voice of Naga_ to the southern border of your Kingdom."

"So I've heard," Flavia said while flawlessly showing her confident demeanor. "It just so happens I'm headed that way myself, you're free to travel with us if you want."

"I..." the _Black Knight_ began. _'Shit, I can't keep this flowery talk up for_ _much longer, and if start talking like my_ _usual self then Flavia could figure out it's me under here..._ ' "As much as I... _deeply_ appreciate such an offer, I'm afraid I'll have to decline; it wouldn't do well for your reputation to be seen with me."

"Hah! It'll hardly do me any harm, in fact I'd argue that it would be a bolster to my support if I were seen with you... You'd make a prominent ally to the kingdom."

"Apologizes," the _Black Knight_ said after steeling himself to consider the discussion and think his words through ahead of time. "I'm afraid I'm not the type to work with anyone, given my reclusive nature."

"Is that so?" Flavia asked before looking to his companions behind him. "What of them then?"

"I'm to guide Lady Tiki to the Ferox-Ylisse border, just to the south of here. As far as Henry..."

"I'm just following whether he likes it or not!" the silver haired youth exclaimed with a laugh.

"Quite the dedicated dark mage you have there, but I was actually hoping that the two of us could work together on this Risen threat," the east Kahn explained to the enigmatic knight. If the two of us were to work together, if you were to join our side, there could be a chance to solve this hidden threat. I already have what few mages I have sent to purge what few _Risen_ remain to keep the towns and their people safe, but if I could put my faith in you to guard the towns in their stead they could spend time researching and solving this threat."

"I..." the _Black Knight_ began. Had anyone else made him this offer he'd have turned it down immediately, but Flavia was different; working with him wasn't a matter of reputation or connections, it would only be a matter of necessity. Turning her down to avoid constant contact with her was a costly idea... however an answer came to him as he strained his head. "Someone's attacking your carriage."

"What!?" Flavia exclaimed as the new sounds of fighting became audiblle. "More _Risen?_ "

"No, bandits," the _Black Knight_ told her as he roughly yanked his sword out of the ground and made for the carriages. "Henry, stay with Tiki, I'm going hunting."

"Aw, I wanted to join in the fun!" Henry whined, but complied none the less. Staying behind as the _Black Knight_ hurried off and Flavia barked orders to her troops, mobilizing them for a fight.

Back with the carriage, Kahn Basilio gave a grunt as he blocked the lance of an enemy horse before he struck back with his lance, cleaving the rider in two. Beside him what men he'd been left with struggled as they fought off the bandits. Flavia hadn't taken that much of their force with her, their original party had been small to begin with since the female Kahn had insisted that taking a smaller force would get them across the kingdom in less time. Now with their forces starting to get overwhelmed at five to one and two nobles who only ever fought in duels keeping themselves useless in the carriage, he was starting to regret letting her make that call.

"Don't stop fighting! We'll wear them down eventually!" the barbarian bandit leader commanded. Basilio saw one of his horse riders get knocked from his mount and fall to the snow with a bandit standing ready near him with his axe held high. Thinking quickly, Basilio grabbed a bow from a downed Bandit and quickly let loose an arrow, sticking the attacking bandit in his heart and saving the riders life. "Grr... Don't waste time with the Kahn! We'll be able to take him much easier after all of his precious men are dead!"

"Dammit, they're using a easy, underhanded tactic," Basilio swore to himself before rushing towards another of his surrounded allies. He didn't have time to stop at the pain as a more limber bandit struck him in the ribs with a throwing knife, merely grunting to the pain as he avoided another knife and swung his axe to cleave through the bandits that had surrounded yet another rider. "...And it's working."

"Lord Basilio! We won't be able to hold them off for much longer! You can still escape on my horse!"

"Hell no!" the West Kahn shouted before blocking the sword strike of a myrmidon and reposting with a fatal cut across its chest. "What kind of a leader would I be if I left my own men to die at the first sign of a tough fight?" Three bandits then rushed Basilio from the front, the Kahn managed to block attacks from two of them simultaneously, but had to back step in order to avoid the third. He managed to cut down one of the bandits that had lunged forward, but the other two held their distance and stood at the guard, keeping the Kahn from defending his men. Were this any other time he'd deal with these men in an instant, but the knife in his gut wasn't making things easy.

"Good! Just keep him there!" the bandit leader shouted as he kept his distance from the fighting (like every other boss in _Fire Emblem_ ). "Keep him down while we carve up the rest of his men!"

" _Aishata_ _Phie,"_ Basilio muttered, an old Feroxian curse that wasn't exactly flattering to their mothers. He knew that if he and his men were going to get out of this he'd have to do something drastic, damn the odds in all... at least that was what he'd thought _before_ he'd been covered by a daunting black shadow. A suit of armor crashed to the snow-covered ground before him, sending upwards a small surge of frost. The remaining two bandits had little time to react as they were carved to pieces by the sudden arrival's blade.

"What say your tactics now?" the _Black Knight_ questioned the remaining bandits and their leader. Many of the bandits took a step back in worry, for they easily knew the knight's reputation and what he often did to the monsters feared by men. Per normal, their leader had a snarl about him as he tried to rouse his men to fight the new arrival.

"Don't even think of tucking tail and running away!" he shouted with great force. "So what if it's the so-called _Black Knight!?_ You think half of the rumors about him are true!? We'll kill him now and-!"

His rallying cry (if it could even have been called that) was cut unceremoniously short as an arrow flew past the knight and stuck the leader; a perfect shot right between the eyes. Turning his helmed head, the _Black Knight's_ gaze landed upon something he'd never quite expected to see.

"I don't normally lower myself to eradicate filth such as this, but that lummox's taunting was starting to annoy me..." Eliza said with a groan as she stood outside the carriage. She was holding a very artistic metal longbow and had a quiver full silver-steel arrows over her shoulder.

' _She decides to make herself useful at long last,_ ' the _Black Knight_ noted as a collection of horse hooves neared the site of battle. "Seems our cavalry has arrived."

"Forward men!" Flavia commanded from atop her horse. "Surround the enemy force and make sure they don't try to escape!"

"We're still dead if we surrender here!" one of the bandits shouted as Flavia's troop fell upon the raiders. "It's now or never!"

Even with the bandits fearful for their lives, the battle was over quickly and the vagrants soon lay dead in the snow. While the Feroxi troops had suffered a fair, few injuries including broken limbs, dented armor, and deep cuts they had been lucky as to not suffer a single casualty. The troops were now treating their wounds, stitching themselves, and apply salves where needed. The dead bandits had been piled into a quick funeral pyre, that the enigmatic trio stood in front of.

"You know... I'm for as watching corpses burn as the next guy, but that doesn't seem to suit your image," Henry noted to the _Voice of Naga._ "So... why are we doing this?"

"Letting them burn away without a witness seems like a blow against common ethics, even men such as these," Tiki told them. "They most likely had no choice in become bandits; most likely they would have stared if they had not confirmed to this life. How many friends did they lose, families... how far were they truly pushed?"

"I try as hard as I can not to ask that question," the _Black Knight_ told her, his tone cool and emotionless. "...It's easier said than done though." Tiki gave him a somewhat bitter-sweet smile.

"So... how long are you going to keep talking like that Knight?" Henry asked.

"As long as it's necessary."

"But... _why?_ I mean before you never cared if anyone had to hear you swear, heck I think I've heard more swearing when I'm with you then any other time in my life... So, what makes that Flavia special?" Knight didn't respond. "Do... do you like her?"

"Let's say I did," the knight suggested. "What would you have to say about it?"

"It's a pretty sorry way to try and get someone to fall for you beneath a helmet," Henry told him with a slight cackle. Neither Tiki nor the knight himself could argue with that statement.

"To be completely honest, I'm actually not looking for a man of my own at the moment," the three heard the Kahn say from behind them. The warrior woman approached the two with a freshly bandaged Basilio. "Disappointed?"

"Not exactly," the _Black Knight_ told her passively, feeling it was best to leave his words there as vague as he could. "Are you still planning to head south?"

"Yeah, Flavia already sent a letter to 'em, so there's little that I can say to try and change her mind," Basilio told them. "Really managed to save my men's hides there though, we won't be forgetting that anytime soon."

"It was the right thing to do," the _Black Knight_ brushed off before thinking to himself. "Actually, if you truly want to assist me, you can take Lady Tiki with you the rest of your journey to Ylisstol." The suggestion was met with a raised brow from both of the Kahns and a more startled expression from Tiki herself. "I've already brought her most of the way, there's very little to do save for crossing the border; something the two of you are better equipped to handle. I trust you can get her there safely."

"Sir Knight? Are you certain?" the manaketee questioned.

"I am, you'd need a guide to get to the capital anyways. This way I can leave you with someone I trust to take you the entire path." The enigmatic warrior then turned to the two Khans. "Any objections?"

"Not at all... though I have to wonder what it is you'll be doing in kingdom in the meanwhile?" Flavia inquired, though not too harshly.

"Heading east. I still have Risen to purge, Bandits to stop, and towns to save," he answered readily.

"So... your only favor to me is to guide another along a path I was already taking, just so you can continue your mission which benefits both myself and the very people I'm sworn to protect." Flavia then gave a hearty round of laughter. "I suppose you have a deal then! Basilio, get some arrangements made for our new guests."

"Hey, I'm not your manservant," the West Kahn muttered to himself, but complied and hurried off.

"I suppose this is it then," the _Black Knight_ said to his charge. In a move unexpected by Tiki or Henry, he then sank to a knee in the snow in a formal bow. "I wish you the best in your mission."

"Sir Knight... Please rise," Tiki asked him softly. The Black Knight complied only to watch as the _Voice of Naga_ practically threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his kneeling form, giving himself only a second to catch her.

"And I thought you were refined," he jested as the short embrace ended.

"My dear friend, I made no such claim," she jested back before turning to Henry.

"So... do I get a hug?" he asked with the ever-playful smile still on his face.

"You do indeed," Tiki told him as the two also had a short embrace she then gave on last nod to the _Black Knight_ , hopeful that the two would meet again before hurrying off after Basilio.

"She seems to view you in very high regard," Flavia said before shaking her head. "It's funny... You really remind me of someone that I used to know from a short time ago."

"Is... that so?" the _Black Knight_ coolly responded.

"Yeah, but I already know it can't be you; I watched them die," she responded, shaking her head. "That and you act way too refined; HE couldn't get through two sentences without swearing."

 _'...At least I know this is working,'_ he thought to himself before glancing at Henry, indicating that he wanted him to stay silent. "Well I'm sorry for disappointing you."

"On the contrary, I'm happy to see someone so powerful dedicated to the protection of the common people; I wish the two of you luck on your road ahead."

"About that..." Henry started, scratching the back of his head. "I... sorta need to head back."

"Why?" the Knight questioned. He might've slowly grown to trust Henry (he still found him a little off putting) but he still suspected that there was someone the dark mage needed to report back to.

"I tried to stick with you for as long as I could, but this snow's starting to get to me," he explained. "I need to head back to Plegia before I wind up as an unfunny, unbloody popsicle."

"I see... Do you need me to guide you back?" the enigma questioned. Whether or not Henry was reporting back to someone, the Knight figured that he didn't have anything to worry about from the dark mage.

"You actually would, wouldn't you?" Henry responded, surprising the knight as he saw a bitter-sweet smile on the youth's face. "Nah, I'll be fine on my own... horse might help though."

"We'd be happy to provide one for him," Flavia assured. "It's the least we can do for an ally of yours."

"...Thank you," the _Black Knight_ said emotionlessly.

Not long later, he and Henry were watching as Flavia's convoy headed off for Ylisstol. Now the East Kahn herself was leading her caravan while Tiki and Basilio were inside the carriage (and forced to endure the noble's company). Watching as they finally disappeared from sight, the _Black Knight_ then turned to his horse mounted first companion.

"You're sure you're going to be okay heading back," he asked. "I'm not sure what the guards at the border are going to think about you passing through without me."

"Aw please knight, they don't care about dark mages coming out, heck I'd say they'd want me to go that way!" Henry told him gleefully. "Besides, who says I'm going in through the main gate? I already have my own way to sneak across the border."

"Wait you have your own..." the _Black Knight_ began as he thought back before growing annoyed. "THEN WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL US SO WE COULD AVOID ATRACTING ATTENTION!?"

"Ah, there's the swearing knight that I used to know," Henry commented with glee. "And for the record you never asked, did you? Always wanted to do things the straightforward way. You never asked me if I had any bright ideas now did you?"

"Just... just go," the _Black Knight_ said with a sigh. "I'm just glad we met Tiki on the road; dealing with your antics alone would have been hell for me."

"Aw you're just saying that," Henry said before guiding his horse to trot off. "See you soon knight! Maybe we'll see Tiki after she talks to Exalt Emmeryn!"

"Yeah, maybe we-" the knight began before freezing... and not by the weather.

 _'E-Emmeryn... did he just...?_ ' The _Black Knight_ turned to the direction where Henry had headed off, only to see that the Dark Mage had long since departed. ' _N-No... He... He probably just misspoke, he does have a few screws lose... Yeah, that's what it was._ '

Despite his efforts to console himself, the _Black Knight_ was unable to shake away his agitation. Growling to himself, he headed off into the snow storm, hoping to find some _Risen_ to take his mind off of the events... leaving him down path of solitude once more.

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **SORRY I'M LATE POUNDING THIS OUT CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT JUST TO KEEP MY PROMISE!**_

 _ **Jeeze, and I thought you guys had voted hard on the last poll. I hadn't SAID that Double voting for a single story was legal, but it turned out to make little difference. Here's the result.**_

 _ **15 Votes Azure Throne**_ _**(I was a little surprised because I have a few fans VERY dedicated to this series, but oh well.**_

 _ **17 Votes Azure Guilt (Apparently**_ _**I've been keeping the story in the Crusades for too long)**_

 _ **24**_ _**Votes Grim Reaper and Beastkin**_ _**(Only three chapters to its name after its reboot, not too surprising)**_

 _ **29 Votes A Reaper's Soul (I like writing for this story, but I guess it's taken a while to get going)**_

 _ **47 Votes Loss, Redemption, Revenge (It's been a while since I've given this one an update, but it looks like fans are still hoping for more)**_

 _ **72 Votes Bloodedge**_ _**of Fairy Tail**_ _**(I've only put two chapters out for this one! How does it already have this kind of a following!?)**_

 _ **95 Votes A Reaper's Game (Much like last time, this story was close in the running, but it eventually lost to...)**_

 _ **126 Votes A Reaper's Awakening (...People really want Ragna**_ _**to come back eh? Well I guess it IS my premier Ragna**_ _**crossover)**_

 _ **Litte**_ _**side note, I've gotten a few complaints for the Harem part of this story and... well I DID leave it to a vote. My hands are tied here... seriously... I PROMISE to think this through and not just have it be**_ _**a whole glomp-fest (which is what Spectacles of Eros Gag Reels are for)**_

 _ **Anyways, here's the Omake. Next chapter's going to be a BIG one (I hope)!**_ _**Ciao!**_

 _Wounded_

"Dammit, I'm starting to get sloppy," Ragna thought aloud a he glanced to the arrow pierced in his right shoulder. The wound wouldn't have been fatal (even to a normal person's standards), but he knew that he was falling behind from his normal self if he'd let himself take a hit like this. Maybe it was the constant lack of sleep. "Well whatever, let's just get this damn thing cleaned..."

"Ragna," came a familiar and monotone voice. The Reaper sighed softly to himself before partially turning to see the Murakumo unit that had been following ever since he'd returned to camp. Lambda had never been able to reclaim her armor, nor did she have any talent for magic, so she often stayed at the camp and helped with polishing armor, cooking, and the like... well, that was part of the reason.

"Hey Lambda, how are you doing?" Ragna asked, trying to keep himself facing away so she wouldn't see the arrow sticking out of his chest.

"Ragna, are you wounded?" Lambda asked, letting Ragna know that she wasn't a fool.

"Just a flesh wound," Ragna told her bluntly before roughly yanking the arrow out, leaving a small trial of blood behind it. "Er! See? No problem?"

"There is a problem," Lambda told him, not backing down. "Are you getting wounded often?"

"What? No, this was the first time this has happened to me in a while, I swear," Ragna told her truthfully. "I just... I just got separated from the group and I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. Won't happen again."

"Are you sure? Maybe I could go with-"

"NO! Nonononononono!" Ragna said frantically waving his hands before him. "Just... we don't need to go there, alright? I think we're good."

"Are you sure? I can support you from afar with a bow," she offered.

"Hold on, since when do you know how to use a bow?" Ragna questioned with skepticism.

"...I can learn," she told him with a cute pout.

"No, we don't need that," Ragna told her before sighing. "Look Lambda, you've already died once because I screwed both of us over. I don't want to have to lose you a second time, alright?"

"I... I understand," Lambda finally admitted leaving Ragna to sigh a breath of relief. "I'm going to finish up making dinner for the Shepherds. I'm trying out a new recipe tonight."

"Sounds good, you need any help on it?"

"No, I'll be able to take care of it myself," Lambda said, before pointing her index finger right in Ragna's face. "But afterwards, you're going right to bed."

"Wha? Lambda?"

"I know that you haven't been getting any sleep lately, so now I'm going to make sure that you're able to."

"But I'm on guard duty tonight!"

"Then you'll need to get someone to cover for you," Lambda told him. "You can ask Stahl, he's wanted to pay you back for a while now."

 _'...It's painfully obvious the REAL reason Chrom_ _thought it would be a good idea to take her with us,_ ' Ragna sighed.

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Lambda-11**_


	31. Exalted Words

_**Chapter XXX**_

 _ **Exalted Words**_

A painful hiss was barely heard as enchanted steel cut through demonic flesh. A low groan followed from beneath a filthy and abused burlap sack as the monster's material started to evaporate into dark purple smoke. Said smoke stayed afloat in the air if only for a moment, before becoming guided by some sort of invisible wind and pouring itself into the gauntlet of its slayer, restoring their energy yet another step further. Its owner the _Black Knight_ , a legend made real, sighed before he poured energy into his gauntlet and then the blade he wielded, causing the weapon to be alit with fire. The powerful red flames danced upon the blade in a mortal dance for only a moment before the knight swiped his sword once more, cleaving through three heavily armored _Risen_ in a single swipe without resistance. Six different halves of the Risen fell to the snow-covered ground with a unison collection of crashes. As their essence was absorbed into his arm, the warrior gave a grunt before twirling his large _Armorslayer_ based sword in his hand a few times until the flames had faded and sheathed it at his side.

"That's another group dealt with," he said bluntly to himself. He realized a moment later that he'd spoken aloud, almost like he'd been expecting someone to hear it. Maybe a young _Dark Mage_ , or long lived Manakete... or perhaps even a young woman who... _'Get it out of your head; you know she's gone...'_

Beneath the helmet, the knight winced harshly as images blurred through his mind. Immobilized on the ground, helpless, torn to shreds, burned and rotted alive, his own breath nearly drowned out by his own blood. Unable to move, unable to feel anything but pain, barely able to think. He saw it in full; a glance to the heavens, a woman stepping from a structure far above him, falling faster and faster until... darkness.

"Naga dammit," he swore to himself as he tried to shake off the intoxicating darkness. He glanced at his gauntlet and gripped his fist, resulting in a short burst of flames as he tried to remind his tool that it belonged to him and he would not abide by whatever chaotic agenda it had. Sighing at his own seclusion, the knight continued walking on, not know what the future would bring...

...not that he cared.

 _ **Meanwhile -Ylisstol Gates-**_

"They may not be here for another hour," Robin tried to inform Chrom as the two stood at the front gates to the capital. Aside from the occasional traveler not even the guards were with the two, yet sentries were placed upon the wall with bows at the ready in case any invading force did try to attack. "Chrom, we don't even know if Flavia and Basilio are arriving today."

"Well they're old friends from the war, it won't do if they don't receive a proper greeting from the two of us," the young prince told her before smirking. "Now why else would I want to be out here?"

"Easy, you wanted to get out of paperwork," Robin readily answered with a groan. "Honestly, I don't know how you get away with this."

"The same way you do; after all you were here an hour before I was," he told her with a small sense of whimsy.

"Because I knew you'd be out here soon enough and I knew I should have kept you in tow," she countered.

"You could have brought your paperwork with you."

"And lose just one paper that could send the entire report into a spiral or lead to worse fate for our kingdom? I'm not stupid."

"And you're not clumsy either," he reminded her. "In all the time you've worked with us I don't think that you've ever lost one single piece of parchment."

"Now would be a poor day to start," she told him, sighing and leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

Her posture brought Chrom back for a moment, something about it had seemed familiar. Had he seen Lissa do this before? That seemed right, but she'd done it because... because she'd been copying Ragna. He considered asking if she'd picked it up from the two of them, but remembered that Lissa's little display had happened far shortly _before_ they'd met Robin. Still... the chance that Robin had gained that particular trait from the time they'd all spent amongst the former Reaper still existed.

"So..." Chrom began, hoping to end their little back and forth and move on to a more light-hearted subject. "Read any more of that book we started?"

"Of course not, you told me to save it for you," Robin assured him. "I did go back and reread a few parts though, something about the knight's uncles just seemed... too off to make him an outright villain."

"Yeah, I got that impression myself, a bit to clean cut for what I'm used to in stories," Chrom agreed. "Still that doesn't really excuse him for the abuse childhood he forced the main character through, wonder what his true agenda is?"

"Guess we'll just have to read a bit more the next chance we get," Robin told him with a small smile before looking over the horizon. "Looks like they've made it, I can see Flavia riding at the front of group from here."

"I see them too," Chrom said before sighing. "Damn, I was hoping they'd taken their time so I could've gotten out of paperwork for a while longer."

"No rest for the weary," Robin sighed.

A few moments later, Flavia and her company had made their way to where they stood directly in front of the gates to the town. Nonchalantly disembarking from her horse, she made her way towards the two.

"Skipping work?" she asked them both with a small smirk upon her face.

"Greeting the leaders of an allied nation is within my responsibilities," Chrom told her with his own smirk. "Robin just wanted and excuse out of signing papers."

Flavia let out a hearty laugh as the tactician delivered a small punch to Chrom's shoulder. "I see the two of you are as sickeningly sweet as ever," she taunted, leaving the two to give a small blush. The door to the carriage then opened revealing Basilio.

"Basilio, good to see you," Chrom noted before seeing the few bandages on the warrior's chest. "Did you have trouble on the roads?

"Some, we were attacked by a large group of bandits while we were focused on a battle we were observing at the time," the eye-patched man explained. "Wasn't a problem to deal with, but I might've lost a few of my men if our enigmatic friend hadn't arrived."

"The _Black Knight_..." Chrom guessed, his face somewhat scrunched as he considered the elements. "You met with him?"

"For a short bit, yeah," the Khan told him. "Honestly, the guy's power is even stronger than what the rumors have been saying, but they haven't said anything about his speed... I've never seen a fully armored man move like he could. 'Tore through the bandits like they were nothing."

"He does have a habit of showing off," a new voice said from inside the carriage, one that neither Chrom nor Robin recognized. Turning to the doors of the carriage they saw a green haired woman emerge from within, their eyes immediately noticing her brilliant green hair and her long pointed ears. Their time with Nowi already told her _what_ this woman was, but they had yet to discover _who_ she was. "You must be Chrom, these two have told me much of your bravery and valor."

"Thank you for the kind words, but I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Lady...?"

"Please, call me Tiki," the woman said pleasantly. "I was hoping to meet with the Exalt, I bring an important news from across the seas, news regarding their Valm empire and their work in conquering their entire continent."

"The Valm?" Chrom questioned. He'd heard of Valm, they belong to a continent west of Ylisse that was home to a few kingdoms and several small provinces within them. From what he could remember, Valm had actually been a nation not too far from Ylisse, well rounded in all form of trade with a centralized government. "They're taking over an entire continent? I could understand an expansion of a few of their territories, but..."

"Hear her out lad," Basilio instructed. "She already told the story to the lot of us and it sounds like we've got more to worry than just some simple gossip."

"...Fine," Chrom reluctantly agreed, uneager to hear the news knowing that a potential war could be on the horizon. "I've already set the arrangement for rooms for each of you as well as some for you soldiers in the castle."

"Word of warning, I figure that you'll need a few more," Flavia told them as she gestured to the inside. Looking into the shadows of the carriage, two of other nobles that he recognized quite well though he wished dearly that he didn't. "...I didn't want to bring them, but their recent actions left us with little choice."

Sighing to himself with bitterness given the circumstance, Chrom nodded and the group made their way into the city and the castle that lie within.

"Could use a bath after that damn journey," Basilio muttered as they headed off. "...Not to mention a drink would go a long way as well."

"We just got a shipment of wines from our eastern province," the young prince informed. "Be careful though, this stuff is much stronger than your regular drink."

"Almost sounds like the prince is giving us a challenge," Flavia said with a smirk. The group gave a minor chuckle at this.

"Just don't drink us out of our entire stock," Robin asked with a playful smile on her face. "We're going to need that soon enough."

"My dear friend, you'll have to hire a hundred men to try and keep me back," Flavia promised. Despite what might've loomed over the horizon, Chrom let out a small chuckle. Some people would never change...

 _ **Later -Emmeryn's Office-**_

Basilio and Flavia were currently both resting in the rooms given to them (along with the bottle of the promised wine, courtesy of Chrom), which left Chrom, Robin, and Emmeryn with the enigmatic figure known as Tiki. To keep the gathering as friendly as she could, Emmeryn had instructed the servant to boil a pot of tea and to bake a few Ylissean delicacies for the gathering.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," Tiki told the group gathered around her. "As I stated earlier the western kingdom of Valm has been conquering its continent province by province, territory by territory... and once it is done, they will most likely set their sights on Ylisse."

"I'm not saying that I do not believe in the news you bring, but I am somewhat doubtful the given the context," Emm admitted. "I've spent a bit of time reading about Valm and its culture, it doesn't seem likely that they would start to rise suddenly, given their history as peacekeepers amongst the continent."

"That might have been true of the old ruler, but this new one is different, very different," Tiki informed. "The Hierarchy of Valm has had a tradition in determining its ruler that has been passed down for countless generations. Much like in Regna Ferox, their leader must defend their throne from anyone who would hope to challenge their rule, but there is another condition. The challenger must fight through all members of the Empire's council that still believe in the current ruler's power."

"So this new ruler," Robin began. "I take it he managed to convince the entire council that his rule was the better one?"

"Quite the opposite actually," the manakete told her grimly. "The new ruler came from nowhere; an unknown soldier who strode to the capital's gates and simply demanded to challenge the current ruler. He cut his way through the entire council at once before overwhelming the king and cutting him down without mercy. Since then he's been bolstering his forces and making his way into the other kingdoms. Given his reputation, most people have taken to calling him _The Conqueror_. Their loyalty to him and his power is... almost inspiring, but for the wrong reasons."

"That certainly gives us reason to worry, but what would you suppose we do?" Emmeryn asked. "As much as I detest the thought of a figure conquering the lands, we're in no position to help you. We are still recovering from our own war and I doubt that our councils or our people would approve of starting another."

"It would be foolish for you to do so, yet the threat still looms on the horizon," Tiki admitted sadly. "Unfortunately, this conflict is impossible to avoided; the _Conqueror_ will set his sights on Ylisse in time... but you'll have a few years of peace at the very least."

"What of the people under this _Conqueror's_ rule? How do they fare?" Chrom asked with a slight scowl at the thought.

"They are worked hard, but not cruelly; he doesn't seem to have any special care for them, but he is making any attempts to be malicious to his subjects. We have little to worry about for them... save for the resistance groups," Tiki said that part with a hint of sadness.

"But like you said, there's little we can do until they make the first strike and we can get a unified response," Robin reminded. "For now, I think our best course of action is to repair our forces and our kingdom. We can put a larger amount of our energy and resources into training our troops for combat. We should try to keep this information between as few people as possible; any noble that discovers this could attempt to defect before the war begins and cause us problems from within."

"A wise course of action, but we may have a difficulty there," she admitted. "The two nobles that the Khans brought with them, I'm afraid they were present when I gave them this information. I've seen them act and their behavior with this knowledge may cause a degree of chaos."

"I'll talk to Basilio and Flavia then," Chrom assured. "If anyone knows how to keep the two of them quiet, it's the Khans. Until then, we prepare ourselves for the conflict."

"There... is more to say I'm afraid," Tiki said hesitantly, glancing a Robin for a short moment before averting her eyes. "I've had visions as late, an occasional premonition of dark days yet to come... the return of the _Fell Dragon_ draws nearer."

"G-Grima returns?" Chrom questioned. "Impossible, that creature has been asleep for centuries! There's no chance he could awaken now!"

"If it's been asleep for so long, then it's due to be resurrected soon," Tiki countered. "All I can say for certain is that Grima will rise, perhaps within the decade, or maybe within your lifetimes. Regardless, it _will_ rise... and plunge this world into darkness once more."

"Meaning we'll have to prepare for that event as well," the young prince groaned. "What can we do?"

"You can take part in the ritual for the _'Awakening_ ' Tiki told them. "That is part of why I am here; I have come from far away to deliver the sacred gemstone _Azure_ to the emblem." The woman then took out a small sphere-shaped crystal that was quite small.

"That looks like that one crystal that takes up a place in the emblem," Chrom exclaimed as he brought out the _Fire Emblem_ (which he'd yet to return to his sister).

"Indeed, and it seems that you only kept _Argen_ t in the emblem," Tiki told them. "There are five gemstones total, meaning you must obtain _Vert_ who I believe is held by one of the resisting kingdoms of Valm, _Sable_ , and _Gules_ which I am afraid I know not where they are."

"Meaning defeating the _Conqueror_ will also bring us one step closer to defeating Grima," Chrom said, starting to see how the events could transpire. "Which means we have to stay on our toes if we're to survive the next encounter."

"Indeed, but this knowledge could give you a small advantage in knowing what may transpire," Tiki told them. "I hope this information has been beneficial, even if I'm not to be believed."

"I do believe you," Emmeryn told her with a warm smile. "If you were lying to us, why travel all the way just to bring us one of the gemstones for the emblem? You've already proven yourself to us milady, and seeing as we can't send you back to Valm, we can at least give you what little refuge we can here."

"Thank you," Tiki responded with an equally welcoming smile. "I'm not sure what help I might be to your cause in the coming days, but rest assured I will do everything within my power."

"That's all we can ask for," Chrom told her with a nod of agreement.

"There... there was one thing I was wondering," Tiki then admitted as she glanced to the corner of the room. "I was wondering where that jacket was from; it doesn't seem to match any particular style that I've encountered and I can find the claim to call myself 'well-traveled.'"

"Jacket?" Chrom questioned before his eyes followed Tiki's gaze and landed on the nearly repaired red coat in the corner of the room, resting upon a wooden mannequin. "That... that coat belonged to a dear friend of ours; a man that went by the name of _Ragna the Bloodedge_ ," he told the _Voice._ "Someone that we lost recently in our short war against Plegia... we'd not have emerged as strong as we did without him."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drag up painful memories," Tiki assured the young prince.

"You didn't know," Emmeryn assured while trying to keep the atmosphere pleasant. "I'll instruct the servants to ready another room for you, feel free to stay here as long as you see fit."

"Thank you for your support," the longer-lived woman said in appreciation. "Perhaps there is still hope yet for this world."

"Perhaps," Emmeryn agreed, something in his sister's tone made Chrom uneasy and he could swear he saw a tear forming in her eye.

 _ **Later**_

Chrom gave a tired sigh as he exited his office after a long day of signing papers. Try as he might to get out of his duties of paper signing, it was a duty that had to be done sooner or later. Many nobles had brought documents to his attention; some saying that they planned to travel to Ylisse, other were offering to bring supplies to create a more festive celebration. Try as he might to keep this affair as tame as possible, it seemed like it was looking more and more like a post war celebration with the Exalt's speech as the main event as the days went on.

"My, my, running out of energy?" asked a flowery voice that took Chrom a long moment to recognize as he turned to face the speaker.

"Virion... I haven't seen you around much lately," the young prince admitted.

"I'm afraid I've been a very busy man; strategies to plan, men to meet... ladies to entertain." He added that last part with something of a playful smile.

Chrom rolled his eyes at the archer's words. "Fascinating... Look, can this wait? I've yet to have supper and like you said I'm starting to get tired."

"I promise to leave you be shortly, I just wanted to confirm something with you... That exotic woman I saw with you earlier in the hallways... that was the _Voice of Naga_ , was she not?" Chrom's eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion, but he reluctantly nodded his head. Doing so seemed to change Virion complexion from somewhat haughty to a more saddened demeanor. "So... Valm's on the move once more..."

"You knew?" the young prince asked in slight surprise.

"Indeed, after all I am set to lead the fair nation of Roxxane... which was one of the first the _Conqueror_ claimed for himself. I barely managed to leave that place with my head atop my shoulders... I only hope my vassal fares as well as I do..."

"So, you escaped one war... only to join another?" Chrom asked as he crossed his arms, trying to make sense of this. "Why bother?"

"Because I intend to return triumphant, I have a duty to my people after all," he said trying to seem triumphant, though his mask of confidence slowly faded. "Though it might be a foolish thought, I am not so blinded by pride that I would say the men and woman of my country are raising secret toasts for my return. I fled at the first sign of the enemy army... gaining back their trust will take time."

"You're willing to help us through this at least," the young prince acknowledged. "Why not tell us this when we first met?"

"Unfortunately secrets and alliances are games I must play if I am to emerge a victor," the revealed noble told him. "Had I told you outright you might have rejected my pleas for help or worse, headed to Valm for support against Plegia. I couldn't judge your character then, but now I know that we have the same ideals at heart."

"I should warn you, we're not prepared to strike at Valm until they make the first move," Chrom admitted. "We need the time to bolster our forces and no one wants a war as things stand."

"Time well spent I am sure, besides striking at Valm when we are so weakened would be suicidal," he said aloud before thinking, ' _Especially considering we've lost our largest asset._ '

"All things to consider in the days to come," Chrom assured him as he began walking off. "A word of warning though; playing around with the ladies of nobility is quick way for their fathers and spouses to make sure you'll never see the conflict with Valm... Interpret that as you will."

"I... understand the many meanings of that message," Virion agreed with a slight cringe.

 _ **Time Passes By -Eastern Regna Ferox-**_

 _'Curse these monsters,'_ _Marth_ thought to herself as she impaled her version of the _Falchion_ through a warrior Risen. The creature gave a low groan before fading to the shadows before her, returning to the darkness from where it had come. Seeing all the threats around her eliminated, she sheathed her sword at her side. ' _So few of them were here... Are they finally starting to die off?'_

"I was wondering who could slain the Risen before I arrived, but seeing you here tells me all I need to know."

With a gasp, _Marth's_ blade was out once more in an instant and pointed behind her as she readied herself to defend against the whoever had managed to sneak behind her... only to see the man from legend standing calmly with his own sword sheathed.

"Calm yourself, I'm not here for you _Lady Marth_ ," the knight said, his tone on the title making it seem more like a form of ironic respect instead of mocking her dignity. _'Damn, I finally find someone to talk to and I can't even act my old self around them..._ '

"The _Black Knight_ ," _Marth_ said as she slowly sheathed her blade. "Seems like the rumors about you were true."

"I could say the same of you, you seem to be making quite the name of yourself as of late... or was that something you were trying to avoid?" the knight questioned.

"The latter I'm afraid," the warrior woman admitted. "Though if I'd let anyone die at the hands of these monsters or those of bandits simply because I wanted to avoid a little attention, I'd never forgive myself. I have a duty to these people... to all people..."

"I understand and I can relate, but it's odd," the _Black Knight_ began before looking to the skies. "There have been far too few _Risen_ as of late. The group you just finished slaying was the first one I've encountered in over a week; even local bandit groups have grown quite... It's almost like..."

"The calm before a storm," _Marth_ finished. "Regardless, there's little we can do besides defeat these monsters as they appear and assist the towns as needed... Were you hoping to join forces?"

"…Not particularly," the _Black Knight_ admitted.

"Then I suppose we'll continue on our separate ways." The young warrior woman then made her way past the _Black Knight_ and continued on her journey.

"Wait," he spoke suddenly stopping _Marth_ in her tracks. When he spoke again, his tone was different, an almost unnoticeable shake to it; he was nervous. "I... I've heard a rumor from someone I trust... Is it true... Is Exalt Emmeryn really alive?"

"You didn't know? It's been common news around many of the kingdoms," she told him leading the _Black Knight_ to catch his breath. "She was rescued in Plegia when Chrom and the Shepherds lead a rescue attempt to free her. Many pegasus knight lost their lives that day as well as a dear friend of the group, but they emerged victorious... despite everyone watching her die."

"Is... is that so...?" the _Black Knight_ questioned, for he had little else he could think to say.

"If other rumors are to be believed, she's said to be conducting a post war speech in the capital city soon enough," _Marth_ mentioned to him. "If you doubt my words, you can dispel any doubts you have then head there and see for yourself." The _Black Knight_ said nothing, he merely stood there, thinking. _Marth_ knew not to interrupt and began traveling on her own once more. "Good hunting sir knight... Don't let a single one of those demons escape."

Long after _Marth_ had left the knight was still standing where she had left him, thoughts rushing quickly through his mind as he tried to make sense of this information, as it contradicted the nightmares he'd been suffering through sleepless nights for the past few months to avoid. Exalt Emmeryn was still alive, supposedly. She was also to be giving a speech for their victory, which should have been assured of long ago with the _Mad King_... disposed of. Were his last few months of solitude for nothing then? No, he'd needed to slay the nightmarish risen where no one else could and he hadn't managed to save _everyone_ , he knew that much... but the Shepherds-

"Damn it all to hell, I thought I was done with this," he groaned to himself as he walked off once more... not even sure what he wanted to do or where he wanted to go.

 _ **Ylisstol -The Day of the Post-War Celebration-**_

"This... situation confuses me," Panne admitted as she walked down the crowded streets of the capital city, trying to stay close to her friends. "We're here to celebrate that terrible war that we fought in?"

"No, it's more of a form of recognizing the war that took place and trying to celebrate its end," Cordelia told the Taguel. The pegasus rider was dressed in a sleek velvet dress that was very fitting to her form and show off her curves where necessary, attracting much attention from the men that passed her by. "No one wants to remember the war, but the reason it's ended is reason enough for some to celebrate..."

"Is that so?" the were-rabbit asked as she tried to ignore the occasion glare that was sent her way. Focusing her attention elsewhere, she saw the countless stalls that were offering food, games, and other festive goods that took up nearly the entirety of the capital's streets. "This seems to be quite the festive gathering for the _small_ celebration that Chrom described."

"That's something that he was trying to avoid," Olivia told her. The dancer/swordswoman was dressed in her familiar white trench coat and skirt, being the only armed woman of the trio with her katana at her side. "Robin told me that this was supposedly going to be a smaller gathering, with only the people inside the capital joining us, but the constant gifts from the nobles and the offerings to bring more goods and games turned it into a kingdom wide event. Originally, it was supposed to be an address from Emmeryn to the people, but now they've turned it into something else."

"She's still giving the speech, isn't she?" Cordelia mentioned as the ladies based by one of the stall where a certain red-haired merchant was trying to sell jewelry. "Speaking of which, how many Anna's have each of you seen today? I've counted four at least."

"Ten," Panne told her.

"It wasn't all the same girl?" Olivia questioned, leaving the other girls to give her twin blank stares. "What? How was I supposed to know?"

Outside the city gates, a small group of guardsmen stood at the ready, trying hard to ignore the sounds of games and smell of food coming from inside the walls.

"What cruel fate..." one of them moaned. "It's the biggest celebration of the century and we're stuck on guard duty, missing out on all of the fun."

"Someone has to guard these gates," a second soldier told him. "'Sides, it's not all that bad; that little girl with the pointed ears was kind enough to bring us some of the food from inside, bless 'er heart."

"Yeah, but I've heard that she's actually a member of the Shepherds that they picked up in Plegia," another commented. "Rumor has it that little girl can turn into a massive dragon, big enough to swallow a unit of mounted units whole in one gulp."

"You're kidding me, that lil' thing? She doesn't look like she could hurt a fly. My own daughters bigger than 'er even."

"Looks can be deceiving, but it would help if you were paying attention."

The guards gave a startled jolt at the ethereal and enigmatic voice that had sounded off before them. Standing close to them on the side of the road was a massive figure in thick black armor that no one had send or heard approach them, but now waited patiently like he'd been standing there for quite some time. (Kellam can relate)

"I-I-I-Um-Ah-!" The lead guard stuttered, half surprised by the sudden appearance and half terrified of why he was here. The rest of the guards weren't much better off as the mysterious stranger before them as yet to speak or move. "S-State your name and business..."

" _The Black Knight,_ that's what many of the people I've met have taken to calling me," he told them, his tone and voice only adding to his intimidating appearance. By now legends of the knight had spread throughout all of Ylisse, an exciting topic at taverns and interesting material for theories of the enigma. There were very few people who hadn't heard of him, and these guards were not the exception. "As for my business... I wish to hear what the Exalt has to say about your _victory_ in this war."

If everything else about the figure hadn't been alarming enough, the vagueness left in his words was very much the icing on the cake. The guards looked at each other nervously, many of them doubt that they could get through the impressive armor with the modest iron weapons that they carried.

"We... we can't let you through," one of the guards said trying to work up his courage. "Y-You're armed ye see and-"

"Had I wanted to strike against Ylisse I would've done so already," the knight told them, his patience starting to thin. "Also..." His arm then glowed with a massive amount of lightning, causing the guards to leap back and ready their weapons. "My sword is the _least_ of your worries as of right now."

The guards glanced at one another in worry and said nothing, silently asking what they were supposed to do. When they turned their heads back however, the figure was already gone; disappeared without a trace, not leaving a single indicator that he'd even been there in the first place.

"Th-this is a problem..." one of the guards moaned as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oh man! When he starts causing trouble we're going to be held responsible! We'll be branded as traitors to the kingdom! We'll-!"

"You mean... _if_ he starts causing trouble," a guard suggested, trying to keep his voice steady.

" _If_..." another repeated. "... _If_ is good."

"Is it though?"

"NO! But what else are we supposed to do!?"

Inside the walls of the capitol, a certain Plegian sorceress turned her head and glanced over her shoulder in silence, her eyes narrowed as a familiar feeling covered her sixth sense.

"Is something wrong?" Tiki asked as she bit down on a caramelized apple that she'd bought from the stall that sold them. The owner had tried to give her treat for free, saying that her blessing his presence was worth far more than any coin, but she'd insisted on paying the man what he had been owed.

"I... felt something..." Aversa told her, her eyes continuing to glare nowhere in particular. The two had met not long ago and despite their differing personalities, Aversa had insisted to spend her time guarding Tiki whenever it was required. The two hadn't exactly become close, but they'd begun forming a strange understanding of the other. "A strange sense of darkness... and it's not gone either, it's still here..."

"Could the Grimleal be trying to attack?" Tiki questioned with slight worry in her tone.

"Idiotic and cruel as they might be, they would know better than to try and execute Emmeryn today of all days, especially considering they'd be the first group that _both_ sides would blame." She paused. "It's fading now, but it's still there..."

"Perhaps Tharja is cursing someone out of spite?" the manakete thought aloud. "It wouldn't be a large step better, but it could explain this... feeling."

"No, I've felt her magic before, it's nothing like this; it's much too... chaotic," Aversa said, lacking a better word to explain it. Looking at bored guard that was posted close to the two, she snapped her fingers and demanded he make his way over to them.

"Is there something I can assist you ladies with?" he asked politely.

"Check in with the guards, we could have an enemy dark mage on in the capital," she instructed, trying to keep her voice down. "Spread word as fast as you can and-" Her words were silenced as bells from all around the town began to ring soon deafening her words and indicating to the masses that the Exalt's speech was about to begin. The guard looked to the two of them in concern before Aversa shook her head. "Skip that, head to Chrom and tell him to double, no triple the guards at the speech. Something's wrong..."

"Something?" the guard asked with confusion, at Aversa's glare however, he hurried off to speak to the Prince.

"Aversa?" Tiki questioned. "I thought you said-"

"I know what I said!" she snapped back furiously. "I'm just not taking any chances today..."

 _ **Later**_

"Alright, go send the message to Frederick, he can organize a larger force than the rest of us can," Chrom instructed the guard who nodded and headed off.

"Faster than any of us?" Robin demanded with something of a scowl.

"Frederick's been overseeing castle security for as long as I can remember," Chrom told her. "If this were a battlefield obviously I'll turn to you, but he'll know how to prepare for an assassination attempt."

"Do we really know it's an attempt on Emmeryn's life?" Robin questioned him. "To attack today of all days when security is already at its highest..."

"Would prove devastating on several levels, showing both a dead Exalt and how weak we are," he told her. "Just... damn! Why now!?"

"Chrom, look at me," Robin said, not giving the prince much of a choice as she grabbed the side of his head and forced him to face her. "We're not going to lose Emm today, we're not going to lose anyone today. She's going to be safe and there's nothing anyone can do to her."

"But..." Chrom began.

"But nothing," Robin told him fiercely. "Fredrick will organize a guard force so large an ant wouldn't be able to get through. The rest of the shepherd's will be standing behind her on the balcony as well as the Khans. There's nothing that can happen to her I promise."

"Robin..." Chrom began before nodding reluctantly. "Alright, I trust you... We'll... We'll get through today, and then in a few days..."

"We'll tell them the news, I know," Robin agreed, trying to give Chrom a happy smile. "Is Emmeryn ready for her speech?"

"Yeah, she finished it a few days ago," he assured her. "I haven't seen it yet, but she's told me that it will address everything that needs to be said, all we can do now is trust in her words."

 _ **Ylisse Courtyard**_

' _This is it, the moment of truth,_ ' the _Black Knight_ thought to himself.

Countless people had gathered in the Courtyard of the Castle, all of them hoping for a proper view of the balcony and the stage before them. The balcony was where Emmeryn would soon emerge and deliver her speech and he'd have his confirmation that she was alive and well... he hoped. At the moment there was a stage just below the balcony occupied by several actors in costume, showing the scene of a great battle before them. At first, he had thought it was a representation of the war they had just emerged from, but seeing a large dark dragon portrayed by several actors he guess that it might've been some tale of the hero king or the first Exalt.

' _At least my damned stealth effect still works, but the way I'm using this though it's gonna drain me pretty fast.'_ In order to stay out of sight and mind, he'd used his gauntlet to place an enchantment over himself so that no living creature could hear or see him. As long as he stayed back and to the sides and away from any guards or large clusters of people, he was invisible to the world. It had been difficult to locate an appropriate spot with a crowd of this size, but he'd eventually found a spot that looked like it would meet his needs.

Eventually the show ended as the actor that the _Black Knight_ assumed was the hero, stabbed his sword into the dragon, causing the actors for fall over and the audience to cheer in fanfare. The _Black Knight_ said nothing merely rolling his eyes and waiting for the show to start. Out of the opening of his helm, he noticed more guards being led into the courtyard. He hadn't expected the additional security, but if he continued to stay as far from other's as he could, this would still be an easy matter.

Eventually a fanfare of horns sounded off and the doors to the balcony opened, revealing Exalt Emmeryn. The people around him cheered as the knight could on stare at the woman. She'd looked almost exactly like when he'd last seen her; a calm demeanor across her body, her regal robes still looking as pure as ever, and her smile... that warm, calm, beautiful smile that had even the power to keep someone of _his_ temper in check.

' _She's alive..._ ' he could only think as he stood there, motionlessly. _'She's really alive..._ ' So consumed by his thoughts was he that he almost didn't hear the chants of people around him.

"LONG LIVE THE EXALT! LONG LIVE THE EXALT! LONG LIVE THE EXALT!" the masses chanted, paying their respects to their beloved leader. Women, Men, Children, and even a few of the elderly were chanting in unison these words of praise. "LONG LIVE THE EXALT! LONG LIVE THE EXALT! LONG LIVE THE EXALT!" Eventually, the chanting died down and the speech would begin.

"People of Ylisse! Neighbors from across our Borders! Men, Women, and Children alike... thank you for joining me here today!"

The crowds gave an enormous cheer once more at these words alone. The _Black Knight_ noticed Princess Lissa, Prince Chrom and the tactician Robin standing on the balcony just behind the Exalt. He then noticed a key detail; the Prince and his tactician were apparently holding the other's hand trying to remain subtle, but it was apparent to him nonetheless. Despite himself the knight chuckled, appreciating some good news for once. Once more the cheering of the people died down.

"We are all gathered here today to celebrate the end of the horrible, senseless war with Plegia and our efforts to rebuilding after its end!" Emmeryn told the people. "Thanks to my younger brother, Prince Chrom, and our militia known as the Shepherds I was rescued from the mad king and the war was brought to an end and peace was restored."

' _Didn't think that she'd be this much of a showboat,_ ' the _Black Knight_ thought to himself before shaking his head. ' _Well I guess when the situation demands it._ '

"But... The wounds were made," Emmeryn said as she shook her head. "Families were torn apart, villages were razed, citizen were brutalized in ghoulish ways... it was unbearable." Many of the people were looking to one another with concern; they hadn't expected a _Post-War_ speech to be like this. Ceremonies had already been held long ago for the deceased, this was something that needed to be _addressed_ , not focused upon. "Many of the sisters in the Pegasus Knights left to guard Ylisse were massacred when Gangrel invaded and many more died in the rescue attempt. Our western villages were sacked time and time again to provoke the kingdom into another war and leaving its innocents to suffer. The nightmarish fiends known as the _Risen_ destroying cities in the night and STILL remain a threat to us all."

Emmeryn then took a deep breath, the people waiting for her next words with bated breath.

"...The fault lies with myself."

 _'What?'_ the _Black Knight_ thought to himself as the people in the courtyard gasped and murmured amongst themselves. ' _The hell is she doing!?'_

"Gangrel had spent much time attack our border, committing atrocity after atrocity and there was nothing I could do about it! I knew I had to stand fast, that I couldn't allow another war like my father's _Blood Crusade_ , but what good did it do for the people!? They continued to be butchered while I remained safe in my castle! Trying to proclaim ideals of peace! ...My ideals have not changed, that much I can say for certain, but I now see the ramifications they have."

Emmeryn then gave a sorrowful smile as she tried to remain hopeful. "When I was young, I felt like I had very few people I could count on; the people of the kingdom hated me for my father, diplomates would often lay the blame in front of me, several of the castle's servants even left the castle wanting nothing to do with me. The only ones who I could truly say I trusted were my younger siblings... and my best friend; a young trainee in the Pegasus Knights. No matter what was said about me, Phila would not abandon my side, even when her parents wanted to leave their service to the castle, she insisted them to stay with me... her friend."

"But then, during my rescue attempt... she was shot full of arrows by the _Risen..._ She saved my life at the cost of her eye and her pegasus and _still_ continues to serve me. I was responsible for half blinding her and she still supports me... Then there was a man named Ragna... who..." Emmeryn shook her head, tears falling from her face. "I'm sorry... I can't... He... I can't..."

The _Black Knight_ said nothing.

"I will continue to support my ideals for peace until my death, that I promise all of you. Hatred cannot be met with more hatred, steel cannot be dealt with by steel. We must overcome our differences... But that's the mind of dreamer; reality has proven already to be far crueler. I cannot make the call to go to war, nor can I lead any needed military action... Which is why... I, Emmeryn... from this day forth... do hereby renounce my title of Exalt."

A pin could be heard in the room. Chrom and Lissa's faces were unreadable, as were those of the townspeople. A leader had just given up their birthright, something they had fought through hell to retain, survived through capture and war for... and just gave it away.

"May any ideals of peace continue to grow after another takes my place... But for now..." Emmeryn could only stutter the final words through her tears. "I-I'm s-sorry for everything." Unable to continue further, the now former Exalt, left the Balcony and withdrew into the castle.

"Emm!" Chrom and Lissa shouted as they rushed inside. Robin turned one last time to look at the crowd before following suit and closing the doors, leaving the crowd to murmur amongst themselves at the announcement that had just taken place."

"Did she really just do that?" one commoner asked in the commotion of whispers. "It's supposed to be her birthright."

"What happens now, is Prince Chrom to lead us as the new Exalt?"

"She ended the _Blood Crusades_ when she was just a child _,_ did this war really affect her that much?"

"Just what the hell did she have to see for that to happen? Poor thing."

"My father would have died in the _Blood Crusades_ if it hadn't been for her... I don't want to see her like this."

Inside the castle, once she was out of sight from the balcony Emmeryn buried her face within her palms and cried uncontrollably, in front of the Shepherds, Diplomats, and any guards that were present there. They all watched as she sobbed in front of them, her emotions on full display for all of them to see. With her sibling following close behind, Lissa slowly made her way toward her sister, putting a hand of support for her sister and hugging her, a rare display of her being Emm's pillar support instead of the reverse. One of the diplomats made his way forward and was about to offer words of... something, but a glare from Chrom as fiery as the pits of hell quickly made him reconsider.

"Milady." Emmeryn briefly raised her head, only to come face to face with an eye-patched Phila who was giving her best warm smile to her longtime friend.

"I... I'm sorry," Emmeryn could only say again, and again. "I'm so sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize for anything, your grace," Phila assured her, drawing nearer.

"But... I... I'm not..." she said through choked words.

"You'll always be _Your Grace_ to me," the former Pegasus Captain promised. "From now until my last days."

"Phila," Emmeryn said between sobs as one of her oldest friends also comforted her.

"Emm..." Chrom could only mutter as he watched, role model and leader breaking down with emotion right in front of him. He didn't know what he should do... he didn't know what he _could_ do.

 _ **CLUNK**_

A loud, heavy footstep was heard throughout the room, though did not come from there, then another. A sudden scream was heard from outside, followed by several more as confusion and discord filled the courtyard. Chrom's eyes grew wide as he looked to Robin who only nodded that she was ready.

"All of you keep my sister safe!" he shouted before unsheathing Falchion and rushing for the balcony doorway, followed closely by his tactician. Bursting through the doors the two say the crowd and were relieved to see that there was no scene of a massacre like Chrom had feared... in fact he didn't see what was wrong immediately.

"Right there!" Robin guided, pointing almost directly below them.

Standing on the stage was the enigmatic _Black Knight_ , his back towards them as he faced the crowd, his cape fluttering in the wind. There were soldiers poised all around him with spears pointed at him, Frederick himself on the ground in front of him as he kept his silver lance drawn and aimed at the knight.

"Steady!" he called. "Keep him surrounded and approach slowly! I don't know what he's got planned, but don't try anything yet!"

"How did he manage to get through!?" Robin demanded aloud. "We had guards everywhere!"

"My god..." Chrom could only murmur as he got a good look at the figure. "...Like right out of the story book."

Then... the knight drew his sword, the very sound of the action resonating throughout the entire courtyard. Soldiers all around him tensed as Chrom readied his blade to attack and his body to jump. The fall wouldn't be enough to kill the prince, but it could wound him greatly. If managed to time it right though, he could catch the knight unaware which might've been the only chance they had.

The _Black Knight_ then took the massive _Armorslayer_ sword in his right hand and pointed it to the heavens with a great forceful thrust. With a bellowing and ethereal voice, he shouted words worthy of history.

 _ **"LONG LIVE EMMERYN!"**_

Chrom was frozen as he was about to jump, Robin could only look on the enigmatic figure down below as did the townspeople. Even the soldiers that had surrounded him as well as Frederick had gone completely still, part of them not registering what he had just said. Inside the castle, the crowd that had gathered remained silent as Emmeryn slowly raised her tear filled from her hands. The _Black Knight_ shouted again.

 _ **"LONG LIVE EMMERYN!**_ **"**

Silence. He shouted it a third and final time.

 _ **"LONG LIVE EMMERYN!"**_

Throughout the courtyard, not a single word was heard and not a soul dared to move. Then one person, a young girl raised within the walls of this city who had lived under Emmeryn's rule her whole life, spoke with all the conviction she could muster.

"LONG LIVE EMMERYN!" the girl shouted as best she could, finally breaking the silence.

"L-LONG LIVE EMMERYN!" a common farmer from an outside village repeated.

"LONG LIVE EMMERYN!" That had come from Frederick the Wary himself. His spear now taken away from the knight as he realized that this had been his goal the whole time.

"LONG LIVE EMMERYN!"

"LONG LIVE EMMERYN!"

"LONG LIVE EMMERYN!"

Countless more chants sounded throughout the courtyard, then all at once the crowds of people shouted their new chant as one, proclaiming to the very heavens their love for their old pacifist leader, the woman that had guided them out of a war even when they had blamed her, who stood for peace where others would seek war, and who cried for loved ones they had lost where others would have not batted an eye. Slowly, the former Exalt emerged from the castle, her face struck with awe as the subjects continued to chant, only growing louder when they saw her. The _Black Knight_ upon the stage then turned and faced her, seeming to nod... before descending off of the platform, walking past the chanting guards, and disappearing into the crowd.

Emmeryn then wept once more, this time not her failures or for those lost, but for the love her people showed her. All around her members of the Shepherds, their allies for Regna Ferox, even the Diplomats joined in the call for her. Their love not for whoever held to title of the Exalt... but for woman named Emmeryn.

 _ **-The Plains-**_

From beneath his armor, the _Black Knight_ gave a small smile as he cast his gaze back to Ylisse's capital behind him. Right now, he was so far away that most people could barely make it out if any detail, it was more of a point on the sun setting horizon. This hadn't been what he'd expected to return to... but still, he'd done what he'd needed to, erase his doubts and leave a clear path forward to the future. He'd continue on his journey, slaying Risen and Bandits as he came across them... nothing stopping him from moving forward.

As the knight walked on he encountered a strange sight; a riderless horse, running at breakneck speeds for the capital city, well decorated with symbols and a proper saddle.

' _That horse had Ylisse's_ _coat of arms on it,_ ' he thought to himself before a thought emerged in his mind. _'Could bandits be attacking? This close to the capital?'_

Looking to where the horse had come from, he took off at an impressive speed for someone in his armor travelling uphill., but when arrived at the top it wasn't a bandit force or an enemy army that awaited him... it was worse.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Prince Chrom demanded as he stood at the top of the hill, the sword _Falchion_ already in his right hand as he scowled at the knight before him. "After what you just pulled, you think you can just walk away?"

"Funny, I would have expected this from one of your diplomats, maybe Frederick the Wary at worst," the _Black Knight_ responded with a calm tone. "Sheath your blade Prince Chrom, there's nothing to be gained fighting with me."

"I don't think so," he responded darkly, surprising the knight somewhat his tone. "I'm not letting you escape!"

"What have I done to deserve this?" the _Black Knight_ questioned coolly. "You should be thanking me for restoring the people's faith in your sister."

"And you think that makes up for it!?" Chrom shouted with betrayal in his voice as he readied his blade. "All of this time we've had to go on thinking that you were dead! That you had died for us! I'm not letting you leave us again!"

 **(Cue** _ **Guilty Gear: XRD -**_ _Reunion-_ **)**

"I see... So that's how it is then," the _Black Knight_ responded before taking his massive blade out of his sheath once more, a powerful wind sending both warriors' capes flowing powerfully in the breeze. "Let's see if you can keep me here... _**YOU DAMN IDIOT!"**_

 _ **"NO MORE RUNNING!"**_ Chrom shouted as he lunged forward.

Both blades clashed, sending a shockwave that rippled through the entire field and produced a massive indent under the impact spot. Wasting no time, Chrom threw himself in the air, flipped forward once, and dove down, nearly cutting into his target as the knight was forced to take a step back and avoid the lethal attack. As he landed, Chrom spun his entire body into a sword slash that the _Black Knight_ managed to deflect with a heavy slash of his own. The two then lunged forward, both of their swords scraping against the other before stopping back to back.

The _Black Knight_ then twisted his body to strike Chrom behind him. Just when looked like he'd make contact off of the prince, the image of him seemed to fade into air before him.

"What!?" the _Black Knight_ shouted, having only an instant to react he raised his sword just as Chrom appeared before him and slashed with amazing speed. The blow slammed heaving in the blade, sending both warrior's stumbling back. "What's with that speed!?"

"I've been practicing a few things!" Chrom shouted as he entered another definition of speed and lunged forward. The _Black Knight_ again managed deflect the blow once more before the two entered a frenzy of slashes, each on send a storm attacks so fast it was unseeable to the naked eye. The ground beneath the two continue to crack with each destructive clash. Ending the lock, Chrom leapt back and the knight was surprised to see that Chrom's sword was glowing with radiant energy. Slashing it he sent a wave of energy that was similar to that of a _Wind Edge_ attack.

"And that!?" the _Black Knight_ demanded as he cleaved through the attack and dispelled the energy. Chrom then rushed forward at high speed and the blades clashed and entered a lock.

"With the _Black Knight_ returning I thought I'd try a few of the _Radiant Hero's_ techniques, I didn't know that I'd be able to use them against you so soon!" Chrom shouted as both fighters vanished from view at the speeds they were travelling at.

Impacts were heard and felt all across their battlefield as Chrom and the Black Knight both pressed the offensive. Earth was torn from the ground and impacts sent strong winds the blew through the hillside glades like a storm. When the rush down ended, Chrom and the Knight appeared on the ground not far from each other.

 **"** _ **YOU WON'T-!"**_ Chrom shouted as he charged forward with a glowing blade. The _Black Knight_ was prepared and managed to block the strike with ease, but the instant he did so, he noticed that Chrom actually seemed to gain back some of the stamina he'd spent during the fight. The warrior prince then followed up with a second slash. _**"LEAVE US AGAIN!**_ **"** The second slash was once more blocked by the _Black Knight's_ blade... but now the _Falchion_ had cut deep into the blade's side.

The _Black Knight_ grunted while Chrom roared and finished cleaving his blade through, taking half of the _Black Knight's_ weapon off and causing it to spiral through the air before it impaled itself in the ground near the two. The Knight stumbled back, but the prince would hold his assault even with his opponent carrying a clear handicap. The countless attacks pushed the _Black Knight_ back further, actually managing to push him to the defensive.

"I should have known!" Chrom shouted as he brought his blade down and chipped off another small piece of the Knight's ruined sword. "A powerful figure emerged eradicating hordes of _Risen_ singlehandedly!? Who else could it have been!?" The Prince lunged forward with a powerful stab and the knight's blade barely managed to deflect the blade away from hitting his helmet head. "Why didn't you come back to us! Why didn't you tell us you were alive at least!? Do we mean that little to you!?"

 _ **"ENOUGH!"**_

The _Black Knight_ finally managed to hold his footing and struck back against Chrom's sword, deflecting the blow and leaving him with a small opening. Charging the power of his gauntlet into what remained of his blade, he sent out a dark demonic head from the ground. Chrom recognized the attack and managed to cleave his sword through it at the last second, dispelling the attack. A sudden blow then stuck through the darkness, sending the young prince stumbling back. Emerging from the _Black Knight_ 's broken sword was a collection of _Lightning_ magic, condensed to form a powerful blade. He brought the blade down sending Chrom reeling back once more as he struggled to keep a grip on his blade before tensing his entire body.

 _ **"HELL'S FANG!"**_ he shouted, sailing forward with a fist coated in darkness. He made contact with Chrom's face, sending the young prince sprawling to the ground and lose his grip on the _Falchion_. Before he could for his sword or rise, the _Black Knight's_ sword was already at his throat.

 _ **(End theme)**_

The two warriors said nothing as the stared at each other; the _Black Knight_ looking to the cerulean hair Prince while Chrom stared back at the armored enigma. A strong breeze blew once more, sending a small cloud of dust through their ravaged fighting arena.

"Heh..." A small sudden laugh came from Chrom's lips, the Prince struggling hard to keep from laughing and failing horribly. "HeheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Unable to control himself as well, the _Black Knight_ dropped his sword and laughed as well. The two warriors who had almost seemed to want to kill each other were no laughing to their heart's content, the sound carrying on the wind to where a certain time traveler watched, her eyes lit with surprise.

"Not bad," the _Black Knight_ said as he offered the Prince a gauntleted hand which his old friend firmly grasped as he helped him up. "Someone's improved."

"Glad you noticed," Chrom said, still chuckling a little despite himself. "You're still as strong as you ever were, even in that bulky armor."

"Trust me, it's not nearly as easy to do this as I make it look," the _Black Knight_ admitted. "You almost had me..."

"...You know that you're still not off the hook," Chrom told him, his face turning serious once more. "Why didn't you come back to us?"

"...Up until a short while ago, I didn't even consider if Emmeryn was still alive," the _Black Knight_ admitted as he glanced down to his broken sword. "I never heard any news that she'd survived as I traveled, so I assumed that she'd jumped and had died on the execution grounds, that... it was the last thing I had remembered."

"I was surprised to see that she had survived myself," the admitted as he retrieved his sword. "But even if she hadn't that shouldn't have forced you away from us. We would have needed you to help us if she'd died... and I get the feeling that you would've need our help to get over it yourself."

"...That's why I began hunting _Risen_ ," the _Black Knight_ admitted. "It made it feel like I could still make a damned difference and I could get some well-deserved payback for what had happened to us... Still, wouldn't have been enough, if it wasn't for Tiki and Henry I would've gone crazy long ago."

"Henry?"

"A _Dark Mage_ kid I met on the road... He was a real unnerving one, had a terrible love of puns, and batshit insane to boot, but he was still a good friend... Split up with him not too long ago..."

"Try to act as standoffish as you want, you still can't stand the thought of ending up alone," Chrom told him with a small smirk. "How did you even survive? That attack back during the rescue looked like it would have finished you off for sure."

"Would you believe me if I told you it just wasn't enough to kill me?"

"Anyone else I would have called crazy, but I guess I should know you better than that," the prince said. "Come on, you know everyone else wants nothing more than to see you again."

"Yeah... Like you said, no more running," the _Black Knight_ assured him. "...I'm ready to come home now."

"Good, because I'd have dragged you back by your stupid cape if it came to that," the Prince promised before his confident complexion faded. "Actually... there's something else you should know... You're the first person we'll have told... Robin and I..."

"You proposed?" Seeing his best friend's blank stare, the enigmatic knight had all of the confirmation he needed. "Congrats."

"You... you knew?" Chrom asked.

"Saw the two of you holding each other's hand during the speech; given your nervousness now, it wasn't hard to guess what might've happened," he admitted before sighing. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up to you in a moment."

"You're not going to run off on us again, are you?" Chrom demanded with a scowl.

"Calm down, just going to grab the other half of my sword that _you_ broke," he told him, causing Chrom to look away guiltily. "Won't take more than a minute."

"All right, don't keep me waiting long; no one really knows where I am," Chrom told him as he headed off down the hill.

The _Black Knight_ then headed over to where he found the top half of his broken sword. Putting the piece and the other half in his sheath, he waited just a moment before speaking once more.

"Robin then?" he began, addressing the figure behind him. "She's your mother?"

"Yes," _Marth_ said approaching the knight carefully, though her sword was now sheathed. "What are you going to do now?"

"We have some time before the Valm arrive; Chrom's probably going to try and prepare himself as best he can, as for me... I've got my own shit that needs to be sorted out, and a lot of it." He turned to face her. "Don't worry princess, both of your parents are in good hands. I see them both through this and whatever else the world decides to throw our way... from a closer distance this time."

"...I believe you," she told him hesitantly. "Godspeed... _Uncle."_

 _Marth_ couldn't see the warm smile the _Black Knight_ had beneath his helm, but she could _feel_ it.

 _ **Later -The Shepherd's Barracks-**_

"Is there still no sign of him?" Robin asked worriedly as the entirety of the Shepherds gathered as well as the visiting Khans and Tiki. The crowd in front of the castle has dispersed long ago and had returned to the celebration and it hadn't taken everyone long to notice that Chrom was absent. Soldiers all around the capital were off in small search parties, but now everyone had reconvened at their base meeting point.

"I haven't found my lord anywhere," Frederick admitted. "A few guards had reported him leaving on horseback to the southern fields, but I just got a report from the stable master that a horseless rider has returned. Given the time difference, he can't be that far away."

"Do you think he could have gone after the _Black Knight?_ " Flavia questioned. "You saw that he was ready to drop down on the knight when he was on the stage, perhaps he still considers him a threat."

"I doubt that very much," Frederick responded. "If he'd meant to do us harm he could have kept himself hidden like he managed to do against the additional guards that I'd brought in. I'd think my lord would have seen this."

"So that's why you let him go? You didn't consider him a threat?" Lissa questioned.

"We couldn't very well arrest him, not after what he'd done..." Emmeryn said. Everyone nodded their head in agreement.

"It's still a wonder though," Aversa began with her arms crossed. "Why on earth would someone like him do an act like this? It just doesn't seem like it'd match his supposed character."

"I disagree," Tiki objected. "I've spent much time travelling with the _Black Knight_." She smiled sadly. "This seems _exactly_ like something he'd do."

"Still, where on earth could Chrom want with-?" Robin's words were interrupted as the group heard heavy footsteps coming from the entrance turning she saw her fiancé entering the courtyard. Robin was about to call him out on his idiotic behavior, before she and the others took notice of the enigmatic knight beside him.

 **(Cue** _ **BlazBlue Central Fiction -**_ _Hikari No Muko E-_ **)**

"Sir Knight?" Tiki said nervously as the two approached. She hadn't expected to see him again so recently, already a dozen questions were forming in the Manakete's mind. Not a single soul said anything as they approached, the knight finally deciding to stop just a few feet in front of everyone. Prince Chrom gave him a sideways glance and a smirk.

"Go on; they're waiting for you..." he told him calmly before stepping over to join his friends who only looked at him with amazement and confusion.

Letting out one long and final breath, the _Black Knight_ steeled himself before he raised both of his gauntleted hands and placed them squarely on the sides of his helm.

"...Sorry I took so long."

The Shepherd's then watched in silence as he raised the armor from his head starting to reveal his face, eyes growing wide as the legendary enigma finally unmasked himself. His skin was still pale as it had ever been, though it now carried an occasional faded scar along it. His sleek white hair had grown long and heavier, now falling over him like something of a mane... but it was still him. His eyes were their familiar crimson red and emerald green and he still carried that same cocky smirk upon his face... Ragna the Bloodedge had returned.

"R... RAGNA!" Robin cried out as she rushed forward, surprising even the Reaper himself. He barely had time to drop his helmet before his surrogate sister leapt into his arms. He caught her just before she managed to slam into his heavy armor and harm herself. Even after he'd caught he, she pressed her face to his armor and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Jeeze sis," Ragna muttered softly as he continued to hold on to her tightly.

"Idiot... Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" she yelled at him while crying. Ragna couldn't help but chuckle as this was sort of a running theme for him. He then noticed the crowd of Shepherds still staring at the two. He slowly put Robin on the ground and forced her to let go of him.

"Hey everyone..." he said with a much more familiar smile towards his family. "I'm back."

All at once the Shepherds rushed forward to embrace their long-missed friend, leaving the still armored Ragna fearful that he'd get trampled by them. His friend gathered around him from every conceivable side.

"You're still alive!" Lissa exclaimed as she hugged his front, even happier than most people had seen her in months.

"Teach wasn't fooled! The Vaike knew you had to be alive!" Vaike boasted as he slapped a heavy hand on Ragna's shoulder, while happy tears of relief were clearly in his eyes.

"Ragna can you...?" The Reaper quickly glanced behind him to where his eyes fell upon the 'vanishing knight' Kellam. He merely smiled, now realizing that there was someone here who could finally see him again.

"Damn you bastard, you had as all worried sick!" Sully cursed crossly with her hands on her hips, her harsh scowl betrayed by the smile that she couldn't hide.

"You've had us worried for so long, where's your sense of modesty?" Maribelle demanded crossly from beside him. Ragna merely chuckled guiltily. "But I think a proper welcome back is in order."

"My dearest friend has returned!" Virion cried triumphantly. "I am so very happy-! Nay joyous-! Nay exhilarated to see you once more!"

"You're back! You're back!" Sumia sang happily, so eager and elated that she didn't feel that she could trip even once... though she still did, once.

Gaius and Stahl had a hard time containing their laughter at the blushing Ragna, whose complexion was explained by Olivia, Elphelt, Cordelia, _and even_ Panne, wrapping their arms and sides around his armored ones and holding them tenderly. Nowi was merely laughing as she'd latched onto him from behind and clung to him like a highly energetic child.

"Welcome back!" Ricken and Donnel could only shout.

"Aw, looks like I can't sell that steamy biography about you like I'd planned," Anna teased, leaving Ragna with a clearly horrified expression. "Just kidding! Glad to see you again!"

"Scary man is back! Gregor is with much happiness!" the mercenary called.

Aversa didn't say anything, she just sent Ragna a _look_. One which he had little idea of how to interpret, only knowing that she'd _deal with him_ later.

Frederick, Lon'qu, Phila, and Miriel were of the few in the group that had stayed back, merely because the four of them had a hard time expressing themselves, though the smiles upon their faces were impossible to miss. Tharja and Libra also stayed back, not because they hadn't heard of or trusted this new man, simply because they hadn't become well acquainted with him as of yet. The two Khans and Tiki had decided to let the Shepherds themselves have their little reunion and settle for sticking back and laughing at the antics. This left... Emmeryn.

As everyone slowly parted from around Ragna, the former Exalt made her way forward towards her old friend that had not only been responsible for her rescue and ending the war, but had also restored the people's love in her and her faith in her own abilities.

"'Was afraid I had failed you..." he admitted, with a touch of embarrassment.

"...I was afraid we had lost you," she responded softly before stepping forward and throwing her arms around the Reaper's neck. Ragna returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around her frame in a tender embrace. "But you returned for us..."

"Yeah... I came back for my family," he simply agreed as the embrace slowly ended.

"Sir Knight," Ragna heard from behind him where he saw Tiki, a small smile upon her face with arms crossed as she expected answers that had been long denied by her old guide. "Care to explain all of this to me?"

"Sure, but..." Ragna couldn't help himself, he gave a large smile. "It's a long story."

 _And thus, the Shepherds have been made whole once more. The Black Sheep thought to have been lost to them had returned to the fold to open arms and warm hearts. What lies beyond this reunion remains a mystery as of yet, but for now..._

 _The Grim Reaper had found his way home._


	32. The Trials Ahead

**Chapter XXXI**

 _ **The Trials Ahead**_

"Idiots, I'm surrounded by idiots!" a toadish-faced man in crimson red robes shouted at a group of soldiers that were doing their best to stand at attention and not wince at the verbal assault being given to them. "I gave you one job, ONE JOB! I told you not to let the rebellion burn our ships and where are they now!? Fiery husks in the harbor, useless to us!"

"But sir..." one brave (if not foolish) soldier protested. "Our placement as guards were only along the main paths to the shipping yards and there was no way we could have stopped a barrage of flaming arrows on our ships. By the time any of us realized what they were doing, it was already too late!"

"Bah! The Conqueror doesn't give you a place in his army to make excuses! He does so to get him results! And to think you would imply that this is my fault!" Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a group of the townspeople, quivering fearfully at the invading army. He gave a sadistic smile. "Dolts, make yourselves useful and round up the forgotten wretches up this town and put them into camps."

"Sir!" one of the soldiers shouted in protest as the color drained from the faces of the commoners. "You can't just-!"

"Are YOU, a common soldier, telling ME, the Head Imperial Tactician, what I can and cannot do!?" the toad man vented with rage. "You soldiers are responsible for this mess in the first place with your bumbling mistakes! In exchange, the people will be forced to make ships until their minds and bodies break! Now... ROUND THE TOWNSPEOPLE!"

"Belay Excellus's order," a calm but powerful voice spoke.

"WHO DARES-!" the man now known as Excellus was about to demand before he felt his body grow cold. The soldiers he'd been scolding immediately dropped to a knee and the townspeople surrounding them quickly fell to prostrate positions. "Your excellency! I-I didn't know you were planning on arriving here!"

"These ships were crucial in our effects to cross the seas," he spoke calmly from atop his horse. Walhart the Conqueror, was a massive man in large and horned crimson armor that was almost too deep to look at. His horse was almost as large and powerful, a fitting mount for someone of his stature many people thought. "It seems I should have trusted this assignment to more capable hand than your own."

"My lord please!" Excellus begged. "I am not the one at fault for this tragic loss! The men you gave me... They were clearly defective! They couldn't even-!"

"SILENCE!" the _Conqueror_ shouted, his very voice booming through the city. "It was your assignment and as such the blame for this lies squarely on your tactics! Don't try to absolve yourself from blame using trick even a wet-nursing infant could see through!"

Excellus knew well enough to stay quiet now.

"As for the townspeople, a search will be conducted, any townspeople found with ties to or seen defending those with ties to this rebellion will be brought before me personally." Face to face with an angry Walhart? Most people would beg for a more pleasant trip to the guillotine. "As far as our fleet is concerned, we are still in need of ships and you seem like the lot that can provide. As such, we will be offering jobs for those willing to work the shipyards and amass a fleet for our conquest."

' _Jobs!? Has he gone mad!?'_ Excellus raged within his mind. ' _He's conquered these people he has every right to force them into slavery, yet he continues to refuse to do so!'_

"I've spoken my bidding!" the _Conqueror_ sounded off.

"AND WE SHALL FOLLOW!" the troops shouted as one before they ushered the townspeople off so they could begin the search. This left my Walhart alone with his tactician.

"M-My lord...?" Excellus began with caution.

"Tread lightly, you don't have good standing with me at the moment," he warned with a snarl.

"I... I understand, but why would you bother offering these people jobs? We've taken them over, taken control of their lands, their homes, their very lives. Why would we not put them in camps to-?"

"And you call yourself a tactician," Walhart sighed to himself. "Excellus, tell me. What does it matter what the people think of us?"

"It doesn't so long as we are feared," the toady explained.

"Is that so? Then I suppose this resistance is formed out of the few hundred that don't fear the _Conqueror_?" Excellus wisely didn't respond. "No, I would say that aside from those unfeeling abominations, only a handful of individuals on this continent don't fear me, including the men within my own ranks. Of course the resistance would fear me... they simply allow their _resentment_ to outweigh that fear."

"Oh... And this has to do with giving these townspeople jobs because...?"

"Why give the sheep more reason to rise against the wolves? Those who defy them will only be met with death, if they are met with a fate as bad or even worse than their demise, then what reason would they give under my rule rather than take up the sword?"

"C-Could you not effortlessly crush the vermin under your heel?"

"I could... but if I'm to create my desired world, then there is no place for the bondage of men in my kingdom. I will not have my people as slaves to their masters, their hierarchy, their religion, or even their own baseless desires... That is my vision for the perfect world." Walhart then turned his horse away from the toady. "Until you are notified otherwise you will be overseeing the construction of these new ships."

"What?! But that's a demeaning task, fit far better for someone of less talent, like that bumbling oaf that can only ever talk about his beard!" Excellus exclaimed. "Should I not be on the front lines, directing your troops?"

"That's entirely dependent on your performance," Walhart told him as he began trotting away on his horse. "If you can't protect a simple harbor of ships from attack, what right do you have to lead my armies. Prove to me that you can manage this much, then I _may_ reconsider."

 _'Prove myself he says,'_ Excellus thought to himself with a snarl. _'Oh,_ _I'll be proving myself soon enough... and once I'm back at your side it'll be that much easier to blast your idiotic head into meaty bits...'_

 _ **-Ylisse**_ _**Castle**_ _**Guest Room-**_

Ragna the Bloodedge let out a low groan as he slowly opened his eyes and raised his head from his bed in one of the castle's guest bedrooms. Bright sunlight was already peaking out from behind the window's curtains, indicating that Ragna had already slept in longer than he usually did. Wasn't that surprising considering that for the past few months he'd barely gotten any sleep at night and he'd already been sleeping out in the wilderness... and less than comfortable armor. Now that he had a decent change of clothes and a good bed to sleep in, Ragna had passed out like a log.

Getting out of his bed, Ragna was wearing a few pieces of commoner's clothing given to him by Chrom and the others. The _Black Knight's_ armor and lay off to the side in pieces now that he wasn't wearing it. Exiting the guest room he'd staying in overnight, he saw a few butlers and maids out walking to their daily chores, each stopping to stare at him for a moment before forcing themselves to their jobs.

"What's their problem?" Ragna muttered aloud before glancing down to his exposed _BlazBlue._ "Right... been a while since I've had to keep this thing under lock and key..."

"Finally up?" Turning behind him, Ragna saw Chrom looking at him with his arms crossed and a smirk on the young prince's face. "I'm having some food brought to my office for breakfast. Care to join me? Robin will be there too."

"Why not?" Ragna said with a shrug as the two made their way off. "So... how's Emm doing after yesterday?"

"I don't think she's going to remain Exalt if that's what you're asking," Chrom admitted with a small sigh. "She already gave her word to the people to step down and even with the cheer you managed to cause yesterday she still stands by what she said... looks like I'm going to have to take over the throne myself..."

"You or Lissa..." Ragna suggested. The two friends just gave each other a blank stare for a moment before the two of them burst out laughing. "Could you imagine?"

"Yeah, she'd probably have some sort of weekly prank quota for the people or something," Chrom had to agree. "All the same she's actually been working hard, I've heard from Maribelle that she's even been practicing some spellcraft to help us in battle."

"Really? Who's been teaching her?"

"Aversa actually," Chrom told his best friend. "The three of them have been working hard on practicing low level spells for a while now... you should go talk to them, they'll probably want some time with you now that you're finally back."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll check in with them some time," Ragna agreed as Chrom opened the door to his office revealing Robin inside as she applied some jam to her bread. "Heh, thought you'd wait for us?"

"And let this spread go cold? Not a chance," Robin told him Chrom closed the door to the office and the two took their seats. "So... Chrom let me know that he _told_ _you_ about the proposal." With the glare the tactician was sending at the prince, it was obvious that she'd wanted them both to tell him.

"In my defense, I wasn't sure if Ragna was really coming back, I wanted to give him as much reason to stay as I could," Chrom admitted. "Speaking of which, we're planning on telling everyone about this in a ball that will be held in a few days. It's supposed to be just a post war celebration, but we'll announce my proposal at the end so..."

"Got it, I can keep a secret," Ragna assured his best friend as he started filling his plate with food. "Speaking of which, I'm not sure if Tiki told you, but we might have some trouble down the line..."

"Walhart the _Conqueror_ , we've heard," Chrom agreed sadly. "We'll prepare for him, but for now we should try to keep this information between us... I don't want everyone to be worried with the thought of another war looming over their heads.

"So now I've got another secret to keep, good grief," Ragna sighed before biting into his bread. "What do you need me to do to help?"

"I don't have anything specific for you right now," Robin admitted. "For now, everyone just keeps up with their training and occasionally goes on patrol... I guess if you ever find the need to help anyone out, feel free..."

"Might work for the best actually," Chrom admitted. "Ragna seems to have a special talent for helping the Shepherds improve just by spending a bit of time with each of them, this could be just what we need to prepare them for the future war."

"Yeah, I guess that could work..." Ragna admitted. "Alright then, I'll check in with everyone as I go. Been meaning to talk to a couple of 'em one on one anyways."

"Good, because I doubt you'd want to be stuck here doing paperwork with Chrom or I," Robin admitted and the three of them gave a short chuckle. "That reminds me, we have something that I think you'll be happy to see."

"Something I'll be happy to... wait, you managed to get my coat and sword back?" Ragna asked, which was only met with an affirmative nod. "Damn, that's a relief to know you guys picked you up. If I'd know you had those I might've..."

"Might've what? Come back sooner?" Chrom accused as Ragna turned away guiltily. "Oh I see... You came back to us because you had no choice, what you REALLY wanted was your coat and sword!"

"I-It's not like that! I swear!" Ragna promised. Chrom and Robin's glares were proof enough that the two didn't believe him, the two then gave him a small smirk and the Reaper realized he'd been played again. "Damn, same as always eh?"

"Same as always..." Robin told him before she and her fiance shared a laugh at Robin's expense. The Reaper rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide the small smirk on his face; it was good to be back.

 _ **Later**_

"I gotta say, I wasn't expecting this kind of quality; this thing's looking as good as it's ever been," Ragna commended as he headed out of his changing room.

He was back in his traditional coat, completed with its regular accessories and the black hakama he wore under it. Considering the condition he'd been in when the Risen had attacked him, he'd doubted that his clothes would ever be returned to their original form, but however had done their work on them had certainly known what they were doing. His favored sword, _BloodScythe,_ was set on his back in its usual position. All in all it felt like it was a final step to coming home. This left...

"Right, still need to get my damned hair cut," he reminded himself as he took one of the long locks of silver hair in his hand and looked closely at it. "Meh, what the hell? Might as well leave it be for now."

"Hey, you."

"Whoa!" Ragna exclaimed as he quickly turned behind him. Standing not far from him was a young lady that looked vaguely familiar. She had dark hair and a strange mystical outfit, almost seeming to remind him of something straight out of ancient Egypt. She seemed to be sticking close to the shadow he was casting in the sunlight and was gripping her dark tome close to her chest. "You're... sorry, do I know you?"

"We haven't met, but I doubt you'd bother remembering if we had," she told, not seeming to have much care at the passe demeanor she showed. "Call me Tharja if you want, doesn't really matter; I doubt we'll be speaking much at all after this."

"All right..." Ragna began as he crossed his arms. "So... what exactly are you talking to me for in the first place if this is so pointless?"

"...What's your relationship with Robin?" she demanded, her complexion seeming to hide itself under darkness cast by her hair.

"A pretty straightforward one honestly; I'm sort of her older brother since I was the one that found her after she lost her memories. Used to be a tactician for a while, but Robin took over for me soon after I met her... That all you were looking for? I explained all of this to you and the rest of the Shepherd's yesterday, even told ya about some of my past."

"So long as you swear to me that you have nothing to hide," the dark mage told him. "Or... would you being her older sibling prove as an... obstacle to me?"

"An obstacle? What the hell are you going on about?" Ragna demanded.

"Robin and I share a... connection..." Tharja told him. "I doubt that she's even aware of it, but I'll make sure she is... as long people like you don't get in my way." ' _Then again, I did feel that connection when- NO! Don't think about that! You're supposed to be with her!'_

"You're starting to scare me a little, and that's been hard to accomplish as of late," the Grim Reaper admitted. "Look, don't really have a problem if you have this... connection with my sis, but I don't want you doing anything drastic. Understand?"

"What? You're standing in the way of my destiny? How boring," Tharja said, not even bothering to make eye contact with him.

"...I don't know what your problem is, but if I catch you causing trouble you're out, no exceptions," Ragna asserted bringing his arm up and pointing in Tharja's face.

"Like I'd let something like you get in my way," she told him as she swatted the hand away. "You can't understand the first part of a _Dark Mage's_ -"

Tharja immediately grew silent as a deadly chill enveloped her entire body. She'd felt the odd sensation start to grow as she'd smacked away the stranger's mysterious right arm, but now it felt like she was drowning in... well his darkness. All her life she'd felt we acquitted with feelings and sensations of darkness, but this was something that she'd never experienced before. It felt like the shadows were drowning her; she couldn't breath and the void seemed to hit her in chaotic, endless waves. An inhuman growl was heard at the eye of the storm, something that actually managed to frighten her.

"...ey! Hey! What's with you!?" Ragna demanded with worry as he looked down at the woman before him. It took Tharja a long moment to realize what had happened to her. Now she was kneeling on the ground in front of Ragna, shaking uncontrollably. Her legs felt like they'd lost all strength and most of her body was coated in thick beads of sweat. Reaching down, Ragna offered her his other hand. "You going to be alright?"

"I... I'll be fine..." Tharja told him as she forced herself to rise without his offered assistance, her complexion impossible to read. "...You won't be having any trouble from me... you can be assured of that much."

"Really? That was sort of quick," Ragna noted. "What just happened to get you to-?" Without bothering to answer him Tharja turned and ran off... though Ragna could easily notice she was merely standing behind a corner, probably hiding from him. "...Seriously, what is it with her? Ah well, I'll give her some time and then apologize for... whatever I just did to her."

As Ragna turned to walk off, Tharja peaked her head from behind her corner and spied on the Reaper as he made his way off, now starting to take notes of... a few of his certain attributes. ' _He's hiding a very_ _ **special**_ _darkness... and he doesn't seem to look THAT much different than Robin.'_ She then gave a small cackle to herself. _'Maybe I DID get that odd feeling from him after all... We could share a connection; doesn't hurt that he's probably extremely fit if he could travel for so long in that armor, and he's probably at least somewhat smart if he was Chrom's tactician... maybe I'll have to keep close eye on him... a VERY close eye on him.'_

" _Heh, heh, heh."_

Ragna hadn't heard Tharja's dark laugh, but with his spine now tingling like crazy, he made a mental note to mind his distance from her from here on out.

 _ **Author's Notes**_

 _ **Now I know that you're probably all thinking 'What the hell Storm? Last chapter was a decent length and on time, but this one's a full day late and only 3,000 words?' Well to you all I say... this is me writing while I was on vacation with the family. Seriously, I barely had any time to write this much out; I did the best I could. This could've been an RWBY short, but I decided I'd give the lot of you something since this story did win the poll.**_

 _ **All the same though, I gotta thank you guys for the feedback on that last chapter. That was a pretty important chapter to me; I'd been planning it out in advance for months and to see that the entire community loved it was a great feeling, so thank you.**_

 _ **While I have you here, a few notes for upcoming chapters.**_

 _ **First, as stated earlier I'm going to be giving Ragna a small harem. I've decided on six girls and while I don't want to give too much in specific detail, I will say that I'm thinking of doing the first four or five during the time gap while saving the last one for sometime down the line (for those of you who still want a chance at Cherche or Say'ri.)**_

 _ **Second, A LOT of character interactions these next few chapters. C and B ranks will be about the same length that they've usually been, but A ranks might take up a larger portion of the chapter and S ranks might have entire chapters dedicated to them... just a heads up.**_

 _ **Anyways, lots to do next chapter, will hope to make it long (I've got Labor day to work on it) and I'll see you guys around. Here's the Omake.**_

 _ **A Rivalry of Red and Black**_

Ragna grunted as he blocked a downwards slash, feeling the full force of Kagura's attack and the titanic weight of his massive blade as he struggled to keep his footing. The Mutsuki heir then flipped over his weapon using its handle and delivered a kick at Ragna's head. The Reaper leaped back in order to dodge the attack and was forced to guard against the powerful slash sending him skidding back along the ground. He didn't have much time to recover as Kagura sailed forward while thrusting his blade. Ragna managed to deflect the attack and the two brought their swords down and entered another blade lock.

"What's the matter? You're shaking," Kagura taunted as he stepped forward trying to keep the Reaper on the defensive. "Can't screw up now can you? You've got your fan club watching after all."

' _Fan club?'_ Ragna thought as he allowed himself a quick glance to the side. A small group of the Shepherds were watching him, several of them being the lady warriors of the group. Also watching the duel was a larger gathering of townspeople, Kagura of course being interested in the young maidens of the group. Rolling his eyes, the Reaper focused on the fight as Kagura finally broke the blade lock.

The _Black Gale_ again flipped over and brought his titanic blade down, using his longer blade to stay at a range where he thought his opponent wouldn't be able to counter. Ragna wasn't having any of that and charged lightning magic into his blade, lengthening his attack and managing to deflect Kagura's powerful attack. He then sent out a wind edge and left Kagura scrambling back to avoid it.

" _ **CARNAGE SCISSORS!"**_ he shouted as he rushed forward, knocking his opponent off balance with a massive swipe before sending him reeling back with an explosion of darkness. Ragna then channeled an _Arcfire_ spell into his arm before slamming into Kagura's blade one final time. The _Black Gale_ finally lost his grip on his sword and the weapon sail through the air before clattering to the floor. Kagura grimaced as Ragna brought his blade up, keeping it at his throat.

Kagura sighed before nodding as he admitted his own defeat. As Ragna brought his sword down Kagura headed over to retrieve his from where it had landed. Picking up his large blade, he couldn't help but notice the Reaper heading over his way, apparently not even turning to address the crowd that had gathered to watch the two of them.

"Don't tell me you're here to rub it in," Kagura muttered.

"Me? Nah, that's more of your thing," Ragna responded as something of a cocky smirk formed on his face. Kagura chuckled as he left was little room to argue. "So what does this make?"

"So far this is your third win... against our 18 ties," Kagura told him with a sigh. "Man, I just can't catch a break with you can I? Now that you've got time to actually train it feels like I've hit a wall."

"Eh, you're improving at least. Almost had me there," Ragna told him with a smirk.

"Maybe, but you're really making me work for this win," Kagura told him before groaning. "Can't remember the last time I had to train like hell just for one match and even then I think I over-prepared and knocked my opponent out in the first hit. So... aren't you going to head over to your fan-club?"

"Nah, like I said I'm not a glory hog. I like to stay out of the spotlight, maybe grab a tankard or two to show there's no hard feelings?"

"You're asking me out for a drink?" Kagura asked with some surprise. "Me? The guy who looked you in your own private cell on two separate occasions. You'd rather grab a drink with me than spend some time with one of your fan girls."

"So what? You coming or not?"

"...I so don't get you," Kagura groaned. "Ah why not? A couple drinks sound pretty good right now if you're buying." Giving his rival an affirmative nod, Ragna headed off with the _Black Gale_ to find a tavern. "You know, if you hate being the guy in the spotlight that much, you could always throw a match or two?"

"After you already locked me up twice? In your dreams," Ragna told him with a cocky smirk.

"Fair enough," Kagura admitted with his own laugh.

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Kagura Mutsuki**_

 _ **Until Next Time People! Ciao!**_


	33. Hair Today

_**Chapter XXXII**_

 _ **Hair Today...**_

After Ragna's... run in with Tharja, the Grim Reaper headed off throughout the castle trying to make a plan for what he should do that day. He knew he'd woken up rather late in the day, so he'd already missed morning drills and early practice with the Shepherds. He then remembered that Chrom had told him about Lissa's practice with magic at breakfast. He realized that he hadn't practiced much with his magic during his days traveling the continent as the enigmatic _Black Knight_ , sure he'd been using techniques through his sword here and there, but never the raw stuff that he used to cast through his arm.

 _'Might be worth it to check in with the three of 'em,'_ Ragna thought to himself before a familiar sensation started to cover his body. Realizing that both his eye and arm were starting to go numb from the lack of dark energy, this more or less confirmed his plans. ' _Guess I'll have to get some energy from Aversa then. Now where to find them? ...Guess I'll just have to ask around until I find someone that knows where they are._ '

As he continued his search the Reaper was vaguely aware of something tailing him, peaking from behind the corner in order to get a better glimpse of the Reaper's back as he headed off. Ragna tried not to pay any mind to it, knowing that addressing it would likely put him in a new world of trouble. 'Sides, as he traveled through the hallways of Ylisse castle he could clearly see that there were several maids and butlers glancing his way and talking among themselves. This whole thing was probably just the gossip that he was still alive after his four month long disappearance.

 _ **Ylisse Spellcraft Chamber**_

"Now then, let's try that again," Aversa told the young Ylissian princess as she stood at the center of the room. Aversa herself was wearing her regular dark caster clothing (her regular outfit, not the robes she wears as a _Sorcerer_ class). Lissa was a decent distance across from her with a _Thunder_ spell tome in her hands, looking through the tome nervously. "Princess, you've cast this spell perfectly a dozen times before, what makes this any different?"

"Well... it's a little different trying to cast a spell against a target than an actual person," Lissa told her teacher as Maribelle stood off to the side looking over own _Fire_ spell tome. "I mean... I don't want to hurt you..."

"As of now you're a novice caster at best Princess; nothing you cast at me will have the slightest chance of breaking through my defenses," Aversa told her with a roll of her eyes. Lissa wasn't sure whether or not to take that as an insult. "If you can't stand the thought of hitting someone with a spell maybe it would be better if you focused your energies on learning healing staves after all."

"But I can't just have everyone worried about me," Lissa said, trying to steel her resolve. "All right, I'm going to hit you with a spell! Get ready Aversa!"

' _I've been ready for quite some time_ ,' the dark caster thought to herself as magic circles started to form around Lissa. ' _She still needs to work on lowering her casting time... oh well, still part of the process._ ' The Princess then finally cast the _Thunder_ spell, the attack soar through the air at Aversa... right before it passed by her completely. ' _Note to self; work on her aim._ '

" _ **HOLY HELL!"**_ a familiar voice shouted as the misguided spell detonated, sending a powerful surge of electricity through whatever it had made contact with. The three then turned in concern to the source of the voice; a rather _shocked_ Ragna who had emerged from the entrance to the chamber behind Aversa. He appeared unharmed, but his long silver mane now starting to stand up slightly on it own. "What was that for!?"

"Ragna?" Lissa said nervously as the Reaper continued come through the door, his face now just _slightly_ cross. "I- uh... sorry?"

"What'd I ever do to you?" Ragna grumbled as he stood his head, causing his hair to fall once more. "Anyways, you three got room for one more? I was hoping I could get some practice in with my magic, and I heard that the three of you were doing some work with it on your own."

"If you wish I don't see why you couldn't," Aversa told him with a small smirk. "Be careful though, Lissa and Maribelle's main lesson today will be working on their aims."

"Yeah, I'll keep my head down," Ragna promised her, briefly noticing a look of disapproval in Aversa's eyes directed squarely at him. It didn't last for long, only a brief moment at most, but he had seen it quite clearly. ' _She's got some kind of problem with me... and she's trying hard not to show it... Well, now's not the time to talk about it._ ' "Also my arm sort of needs a charge, kinda running low on juice."

"A charge?" Maribelle asked as Aversa nodded and headed over. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"You know how my arm is supposed to run off of the _Dark Energy_ that the Risen are made outta?" the Reaper began and the young noble nodded. "Well these last couple of weeks while I was wandering around I barely came across a single of those damn monsters, didn't help that I had to spend a lot of my energy against Chr- one of my opponents." A small spark was felt on the _BlazBlue_ as Aversa cast on of her dark element spells into the mysterious object. " _Dark Magic_ is pretty close to _Dark Energy_ , so I can get some power for this thing from Aversa, but it's not perfect."

"Perhaps if you actually put some energy into learning _Dark Magic_ you wouldn't need my help," Aversa told him.

"Come on, the stuff that I can do with my _BlazBlue_ is already dark enough and it's pretty damn powerful ain't it?" the Reaper told her.

"Yes, but it's easier to master magic if you're able to use all of the forms," Aversa told him with a scowl before she glanced to Lissa. "...With the occasional exception... You told me that you came here to practice your magic with us; consider this another level of practice, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the results."

"Fine, fine..." Ragna reluctantly agreed. "So where do we start?"

"For now consider yourself my little helper," Aversa told him with a slightly mocking undertone, leading the Reaper to roll his eyes in exasperation. "I'm going to be helping Maribelle get a proper grasp on second level spells. Meanwhile I need you to go and help little Lissa's aim, make sure she can make a shot without blasting a new hole in the castle wall."

"Hey, my aim's not that bad!" Lissa protested. "I just... I have trouble hitting real people."

"Well Ragna's real enough try to hit him with a few of the spells we went over," Aversa told her. "Besides, you've already blasted him unintentionally, he should be able to receive anything you can take and remain unscathed."

' _I'm acting as a target dummy now? Wonder what the rabbit would say if she could see this?_ ' Ragna thought to himself before looking to the nervous young Princess. "Well? Are you going to hit me or what?"

"I... I'm just getting myself ready," Lissa told him nervously before trying to appear prepared and determined. "All right! I'm going to strike you with my spell!"

"Less talking, more casting," Ragna told her before sighing. Yellow magic circles and runes finally started to appear around the princess as she started to channel her magic power into the tome she held. ' _Does spell casting normally take that long? It'd be hard for her to use something like that in an actually fight._ ' Lissa then cast the spell, causing the attack to sail through the air... directly into Ragna's face. "Guh... Again?"

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to hit you in the head!" Lissa told him worriedly before she got a proper look at Ragna. "Bwahahahahaha! R-Ragna! Your hair is-!" She couldn't continue, only succumbing from the demand to laugh at the startled and confused Grim Reaper.

"The hell's her problem?" Ragna grumbled as he looked to Maribelle and Aversa. The dark caster seemed to have an even snarkier smirk on her face than usual while the young noble was covering her mouth was a gloved hand, trying to prevent herself from giving an (in her eyes) undignified laugh. There were no mirrors in the room for Ragna to see the changes to his hair; his mane had become spiked once more, but instead of its usual light clumps of hair that it was usually in this time it was sprouting out of his head in several angles as sharp spikes that almost looked like you could impale someone with them, giving his head the appearance of a white porcupine that gave off the occasional spark of lightning.

"Quite amusing," Aversa told the young princess. "Let's see how well it'll react to a wind spell." This time Lissa could readily agree and wasted no time in charging the spell, this time hitting Ragna with the full force of the spell, blowing all of his spiked hair behind him and making it seem like that Reaper had just taken off at the speed of light before stopping. "There we go, much better."

"You're enjoying this way too much..." Ragna groaned as Lissa only continued to burst out laughing, snorting occasionally. ' _Maybe I should get my hair cut soon after all...'_

For the next half of the hour, the two groups worked with one another. Maribelle cast her spells at Aversa while she canceled them out with ease. Ragna had far less training in blocking the effects of spells, so he was forced to endure the attacks and each hilarious hairdo he was given to go with it. This only seemed to spur on Lissa's casting and reduce the time between each spell as she wished to she just what insane hair style she'd create on the Reaper next, even trying out a few _Elwind_ spells for added effect.

"You know you could have tried to cancel the effect of the spells, don't you?" Aversa questioned the Reaper who was running his hands through his hair to return it to normal.

"Meh, started to see it was motivation enough for her to stick with, decided I'd endure it this once," he told her bluntly. "So now what?"

"Well the two of them are continuing their reviewing of second level spells, I think it's time I tried teaching you how to use _Darkness Spells_. This may prove to be a challenge as even the more basic spells are far more difficult to cast, but it been proven that if you can use even a beginner grade spell, you have access to the rest using spell tomes. The only ability truly set for you is your ability to cast the magic without a tome. It'll be interesting to see how that translates to you and your arm."

"Yeah, that could be something,"the Grim Reaper agreed. "So how do I start?"

"Well there are a number of rituals that you could do; I might unlock some of the potential darkness that rests within your soul."

"Yeah, let's just stick to practice and go from there," Ragna told her. "What's the first spell on the menu?"

"That would be... this one," Aversa told him as she grabbed a dark book off of a side table and threw it to him. As soon as Ragna caught it in his right hand, a stand pulse was felt throughout his entire _BlazBlue_. It wasn't painful, but the sensation was still lingering on it and his entire body oddly felt like it had just waken up from a rather long nap. "Something the matter?"

"Just... felt something when I caught it," the Reaper told her, not in the mood for keeping secrets. "You didn't curse it did you?"

"No, but it might mean that you're highly sensitive to the magics within the tome. At the very least, it tells us that you can use the magic through tomes... possibly through your arm with sufficient practice."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started," Ragna told her as he opened the tome and began skimming through the pages. "So it's called _Flux_ then? Anything special about it?"

"Besides being a little stronger than other spells of this level there's nothing substantial about it. You could probably learn this spell in a short study-" The slight dark glow emitted around Ragna's glove interrupted her mid-sentence.

"Sorry, you say something?" Ragna asked with a cocky smirk upon his face as his gauntlet continued to glow from the spell it was storing and awaiting to cast.

"You're a quick learner I suppose, the only question is are you an efficient one?" Aversa then took position in front of the Grim Reaper and crossed her arms in expectancy. "Well?"

"No offense, but I probably hit with magic a bit harder than most of your opponents," Ragna told her.

"Then I'll just have to be satisfied that you're using a weaker and any mark you leave will heal completely," Aversa told him, leaving Ragna to raise an eyebrow. "Fine. Lissa, be a dear and keep your healing staff on hand."

"Um... okay," Lissa reluctantly agreed as she stopped practicing her spell magic and grabbed her familiar tool from the corner.

With three pairs of eyes upon him and Aversa's in a challenging smirk, Ragna knew he'd at least have to indulge her. Trying to put as little into the spell as he could, Ragna flicked his wrist and sent a blot of darkness at her chest. When the bolt came within four feet of her, the magic shattered before fading completely. Somewhat startled at this development, Ragna fired the spell again with more power, only to again watch as it shattered and faded as it neared Aversa. Trying a final time, Ragna poured in what anyone else might consider a sizable amount of power. This time Aversa was forced to take a stand before she swung her arm and shattered the spell.

"Alright, you have my attention... where'd I screw up?" Ragna questioned without whimsy as Lissa and Maribelle both let out sighs of relief.

"Your spellcraft is far too chaotic. Powerful or not, any magic duel against any real noteworthy mage would be like an fly attempting to kill a wyvern."

"My entire style is chaotic," Ragna rebuked.

"Why?" Aversa questioned.

"Why? Because that's how I was taught and that's how I've always fought," Ragna told her. "My master always told me that an unskilled fighter is a dead fighter, but a fighter whose too precise is one that's seen through too easily. The same principles apply to my Ars Magus."

"It's a mistake to think that casting a spell is the same as swinging your sword or even that other form of magic that you use. The more focused and precise a dark spell is harder it will be to cancel it mentally. Just because you learned to cast that spell quickly, don't think that you can harm an actual mage with it."

"...Alright you got me; teach me your mystic ways Aversa," the Reaper reluctantly agreed.

"If you're trying to flatter me, your silver tongue is out of practice," Aversa told him with a small smile upon her face. "Now then, begin channeling your magic and I'll tell you what adjustments need to be made."

"You got it," Ragna told her as he channeled his power into his _BlazBlue_ once more.

The four of them continued to practice their magic for the next few hours. Lissa and Maribelle managed to master their lower class spells while Aversa worked with Ragna and helped him to master the _Flux_ spell as well as review the fundamentals of a few of the other spells he hadn't worked on for some time. All in all it was time well spent and Ragna had felt like he'd at least managed to improve this worlds version of spell casting somewhat.

"Well done you three," Aversa complimented. "Be sure you review what I've taught you, I may try to introduce you to the next level of spell casting the next time I see you." The other nodded in agreement while the dark caster left.

"See you later," Lissa told the remaining two. "Chrom wanted me to help him with his paperwork... though I don't really know what good I'll be..."

"As long as you can read to papers and mimic his signature I think that all he's looking for," Ragna explained gruffly. The princess gave a small giggle before heading off, leaving only the Reaper and Maribelle in the spell chambers.

 _ **Opinions of the Common Man**_

"So..." Ragna began as he looked at Maribelle. "What's on your plate?"

"If you're asking what on my agenda, at the moment I'm currently free. But perhaps there's something that you could help me with. Do you recall the tea that I provided you with the one time we had tea time together?"

"Vaguely, thought I said something about it being warm juice," Ragna told her.

"You did. I actually brought the observation to my father not long ago and I was surprised to find that he wholeheartedly agreed with your judgment, yet when I told my verdict to a few of the nobles of court they merely told me that I 'didn't have the taste for such a pleasure.' Now I consider myself something of a connoisseur of fine teas, do you have any ideas why they might have said that?"

"Other than the fact that most nobles I know are stuck up?" he rhetorically responded, earning him just a slight glare. "Status I guess; it's easier if you shut up and go along with everyone else thinks than say something that contradicts their way of thinking."

"Is that so? But you, you always seem to voice your opinions of opposition, even when everyone else has said otherwise. Why is that?"

"Besides the fact that I can kick any ass I need to back up my argument?" Ragna told her with a chuckle, this time Maribelle gave a small giggle. "I guess I just never felt like being told what to do or think. Might've had something to do with the fact that I was usually surrounded by people that thought very little of me."

"Well given your status now I suppose you could certainly be seen as quite the voice of reason," Maribelle told him as an idea formed. "If you wouldn't mind following me, I do have a few teas and wines I'd like your opinion on."

"Eh, I got time so why not? Let's go."

Maribelle then led Ragna to an unused study and the two made their preparations for a taste testing. Maribelle heated a kettle of water and readied the tea while Ragna gathered a few goblets and poured the wines into them. Before long the two had everything they needed before them.

"Alright, so where do we start?" Ragna asked.

"Perhaps with this tea?" Marribelle said before pick up and handing him one of the steaming mugs. "This is an older brew, but several people of the kingdom have said that it has refinement in its flavor. Perhaps you could say otherwise?"

"I dunno, let's see..." Ragna took the mug and had small sip, letting the flavor cover his senses. "It's pretty good; a little more bitter than I usually like 'em, but good."

"I see, and this?" Marribelle asked as she brought him another mug.

"Ugh, WAY too sweet, how much sugar did you put into this?"

"I didn't it's a special brew that uses only its ingredients to present its unique flavor. Much like the first tea that you were served this one has come into critical acclaim as of late, yet you don't seem to agree. Even Lissa thought that this was an amazing flavor."

"Figures, she's always had a sweet spot for this stuff," Ragna muttered. "Trust me, this seems like the kind of thing that Gaius would be drinking."

"Our... thief?" Marribelle asked, her tone a mix of both disbelief and disapproval. "You truly believe he could appreciate something meant for a more prestigious pallet?"

"Why not? That guy's crazy about sweets and this tastes like it has a crazy amount of sugar, even if it doesn't." he explained. "Noble brewed or not it sounds like its right up his alley."

"So... you're suggesting I get his opinion?" the noble asked, unsure with Ragna's reasoning.

"I mean why not? Why is some noble's opinion any better than his? Unlike them, he probably won't care about any sort of status."

"Do... do you truly feel that way?" Marribelle questioned, leading Ragna to merely shrug. "Perhaps I shall question a few of the Shepherds then, I'll try to see if the really feel that way about the teas. It could help in my research."

"Research?" Ragna questioned with a raised eyebrow. "What the heck are you trying to do?"

"It's a rite of passage for my family," Maribelle told him. "My family has been known for brewing some of the best teas for the royal family for generations. I intend for my first creation to be one of the best in the kingdom... and if my last meeting with you told me anything you seem to have a unique taste for teas. Perhaps I'll even manage to top even your expectations."

' _Should I just tell her about the box of Rachel's tea leaves that I hid in my room?'_ Ragna thought to himself. ' _Eh, guess I should hold off and see if she can solve this thing on her own._ '

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Marribelle**_

After the tasting session was over, Ragna exited the study and walked through the hallways of the castle, not having a particular course in mind. He passed by several nobles after they were leaving meetings or heading to their guest rooms or personal studies. Try as he might to ignore them, he couldn't help but overhear some of the things that the nobility was saying behind his back.

"So it wasn't just maid gossip after all," one of the nobles commented. "He's truly returned... And here I thought he was supposed to have died in the Exalt's- sorry, the _former_ Exalt's rescue."

"He did manage to show up on the same day that Lady Emmeryn stepped down from the throne, and the day where that enigmatic _Black Knight_ showed his undying support for her... Is it possible that there's some connection there?" one noblewoman advised.

"I suspected that as well," a third noble chimed in. "Perhaps this was all some ploy all along for Emmeryn to leave the throne and Chrom to take over. There's likely a plot here in all of this."

' _These people just don't get it..._ ' Ragna thought to himself with a sigh. ' _Might as well let them think whatever the hell they want; they'll get theirs if they to encourage Chrom on a rise to power.'_

"Still, with Ragna the Bloodedge returning this could present the rest of us with an opportunity, what with his close relationships with both Exalts," the first noble whispered to the others. "Don't you have a young daughter that he might have interest in?"

'... _That's it, I'm out of the castle,'_ Ragna thought to himself as he hurried off in a huff. ' _Seriously, can't those damn nobles take a frickin' hint?'_

 _ **Shepherd's Barracks**_

"Here we go, this is more like it," Ragna thought to himself as he headed back into the barracks. "Home sweet home." Heading inside he passed by the occasional guardsman who gave him a simple nod or even a salute which he returned with a nod of his own. As he passed by the training yard, he saw several of the Shepherds practicing their form against the training dummies and in duels against one another. This brought a brief surge of nostalgia to the Reaper, now relieved that Chrom had managed to convince him to return.

"Almost makes me feel like an idiot for not coming back sooner," Ragna muttered aloud with a small smirk on his face. His thoughts were interrupted by the barrage of footsteps that sounded behind him.

 _ **Innocent Fun**_

"RAGNA!" a young voice shouted as a young manakete leaped into the air and landed on Ragna, clinging to his back. Though he lurched forward, he managed to keep his footing before glancing behind him. "Remember me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't forget a fellow Shepherd... and it'd be damn hard to forget a dragon girl as energetic as you, Nowi," Ragna told her with a small smirk while the girl in question simply beamed with a smile. "So, any particular reason you decided to tackle me from behind or did you just feel like it?"

"I was looking for someone to play with," she told him. "Everyone's busy training or running errands, but then you came in and I found someone to play with."

 _'Play? At a time like this? Isn't she supposed to be centuries old?'_ Ragna thought to himself with a touch confusion. _'Then again, Tiki is pretty childish herself and I think she's supposed to be even older.'_ "All right, why not? What kind of game do you usually play?"

"How about hide and seek?" Nowi asked him. "I'm really good at finding people."

"Yeah, cause you're the type of person to crawl into everything," he told her with snark grin, only causing Nowi's own smile to grow ever larger. "Okay, you're on. Who's hiding first?"

"You hide, I'll find you," Nowi told him as she let go of his back and landed on the ground. She then covered her eyes with her hands and began to count. "One... Two... Three..."

Ragna immediately took off running, heading through the hallways and passing by the occasional Shepherd. Think back, the last time he'd played this game had been at the church with Jin and Saya. He became something of a master at the game, managing to hide from both his siblings and their matron caretaker... of course if he ever hid for too long Jin and Saya especially would cry until he revealed himself.

' _Now that I think about it, would Nowi do something like that?_ ' Ragna thought to himself as he hurried through the complex, his face slowly starting to darken. ' _She's shown that she can be pretty childish and if she can transform into a dragon while she's upset... Maybe I'll try to be a little more obvious.'_

Heading into the barracks, Ragna found himself in front of his old room. Trying the door, he saw that it wasn't locked so he decided to head inside and use this as his 'somewhat obvious' hiding spot. While he was relieved to find that the room didn't currently appear to be lived in, it did show that someone had been making the rounds and had been taking the time to dust it. Shutting the door behind him, he saw old collection of books on his bookshelf, a few of them already read while most had barely been started. His regular day to day supplies had been restocked, along with a bottle of brandy on the desk.

 _'Funny, this supposed to be for me?_ ' Ragna thought before shaking his head. ' _I'll ask Chrom about that later, maybe I can_ -' Right behind him the door was flung open as Nowi once more latched onto his back. "...That didn't take long."

"I think you underestimated me," Nowi told him with a giggle. "Alright, your turn to come find me."

"Alright, what am I counting to?" Ragna asked, realizing that the two had never established that.

"Fifty!" Nowi told him. Ragna narrowed his eyes; had Nowi found him as quickly as she did after counting that high she would've had to come directly here. "Oh, and if you can't find me, then I get a prize!"

"Wait, what? When was that part of the agreement?" Ragna demanded.

"I... I do the same with everyone else," Nowi told him, her eyes starting to fill with (crocodile) tears. Ragna decided he might as well go along with (that's what he told himself at least) and slowly nodded his head with a groan. "Great! Now cover your eyes and start counting!"

"One..." Nowi's footsteps were clearly heard for the first half of the call, before quickly become quieter as she made her way further and further away. "Two..." By the time he'd finished that call she was completely gone, no footsteps were heard. "Three..." Silence. ' _Ragna the Bloodedge... What the hell did you just agree to?_ '

A good time later Ragna had no sign of Nowi, nor any sign that she had passed by. He'd decided it had gotten to the point where he could ask the others for help, but they'd told him that this was often a favorite trick of hers to win small favors from them. Most of them told him that perhaps he'd be the one to finally find her... He was starting to doubt it.

"Dammit..." he groaned.

"I win!" Nowi shouted as she came from out of seemingly nowhere a stood before the Reaper with a massive smile. Glancing down at the little thing, Ragna couldn't help but chuckle.

"You probably cheated, but what the hell, guess I'm a man of my word," Ragna admitted. "So what do you want? I got some decent coin on me so I can treat us both to meal."

"Food's good, but that's not what I want," Nowi told him. "Think I can play with your hair for a bit?"

"Say what?" The Reaper's complexion was one of honest surprise with the faintest touch of dread. "You're going to... what do you want to do to my hair?"

"Just play with it!" Nowi told him cheerfully. "The rest of the girls have let me play with their hair before and yours look like it's gotten much longer. I can totally have some fun with it!"

' _Aw geeze..._ ' "Nowi, listen..."

"B-But you promised..." the young manakete began, with more crocodile tears.

' _Damn it,'_ Ragna later thought to himself as he as he was seated in a small wooden chair while Nowi hummed behind him as she worked her magic. "Just... no bows... alright?"

"Don't worry you're pretty little head!" Nowi said before leaping up and roughly running her hair through Ragna's hair numerous times. He grimaced at the action, but held his tongue and decided to endure. (He's had to deal with Platinum, Nowi's a walk in the park via comparison). "I'll have you looking tres magnifique monsieur!"

"Where the hell did you learn to speak french?" Ragna questioned through Nowi's fun.

"What's french? I've just been repeating a few phrases that I've heard Virion say," Nowi told him.

 _'Figures._ '

"And... finished!"

"Finished?" Ragna questioned as he barely touched the top of his hair.

"No touching! You'll ruin it!" Nowi shouted before she ran off and grabbed a mirror. "How about now?"

"Let's see the damage then... The spike are clumped together a lot thicker, buuuuut... That's it?"

"Nope!" Nowi told him as she brought something from behind Ragna. Looking at it closely, Ragna saw that it was an especially long gathering of hair from the back of his head.

"This a rat tail?" he asked.

"Don't call it a rat! It's a _pony tail_!" Nowi told him, giving him the slight bop of the head.

"Hmm..." Ragna hummed to himself. "Are you going to be disappointed if I change it back?"

"Just don't do it yet! Someone else has to see this!" the young girl said with a pout before her eyes lit up. "Wait right here! I'll be right back!"

"Seriously, this is the last time I play hide-and-seek with that kid," Ragna groaned as he leaned back in his chair and gruffly crossed his arms. "Guess she means well, but I need to figure out something else to do..."

"Come on! His new hair's amazing!" he heard Nowi shouted from down the hall before hearing the barrage of two sets of footsteps. Without any further warning the door burst open revealing Nowi and her chosen 'guest.' "Viola! What do you think?"

"I..." the blushing bride Elphelt began before she got a proper look at Ragna. Arms crossed and looking gruff? Check. Dressed in red and black? Check. Thick spiky hair atop his head with a long ponytail behind it? Double check. Elphelt didn't say anything, she only continued to stare at the Reaper with a still face.

"...The hell are you looking at?" Ragna questioned. Vulgar language... check, check, and check.

Elphelt lost control and fell to the ground with a sound _thud_. Both Ragna and Nowi looked down at her in concern as her body twitched with an odd expression on her face. "Sol..."

"Soul? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Easy. She's just complimenting the soul put into your new hair style," Nowi told him a-matter-of-factly.

"Something tells me that's not it..."

 _ **Support Rank B Obtained with Nowi**_

"Damn... what a day," Ragna groaned after he'd helped Elphelt back to her room. Walking out and heading down the hallways, the Reaper tried to plan his next move... that or finally get some time alone. He let out a defeated sigh a he realized he wasn't going to be that lucky. It was early afternoon and he figured that at least someone was going to find him before the day's end.

 _ **Trapped Again**_

"This is all your fault, you know?" Ragna told his hair as he undid Nowi's ponytail and shook his head until his hair returned to its new mane look. "Damn it, I should've taken care of this weeks ago."

"Ragna?"

The Reaper turned his head before he came face to face with Cordelia, the red-headed co-captain of Ylisse's pegasus knights. Unlike normal times when she was wearing her Pegasus armor, now she was wearing common clothing made of linen. Her hair also had a damp shine to it, indicating that she'd just come from taking a bath.

"Hey," he said simply, somewhat awkward seeing Cordelia one-on-one after so much had happened. "Um... How have you been?"

"Fine I suppose," Cordelia told him. "I just got back from teaching a few pegasus flight techniques to the new recruits. They... managed, but I guess we're still pretty early in our training. It was fortunate that I had insisted that we trained close to the ground, otherwise one of the girls might not have stumbled away with just a broken ankle."

"No kidding, I can't imagine what it feels like when you're flying up there like that and have to do all of that fancy flying in the middle of a fight."

"Oh it's the greatest," Cordelia told him as her eyes seemed to light up. "Well not when you're in the middle of battle, but with the wind hitting your face and the way your body lurches and you need to hold on for dear life, it's the greatest adrenaline rush you could possibly imagine. And you have to put your faith in your pegasus to get you through pass and..." Cordelia realized that she'd been going on about her flying habits for sometime when she noticed Ragna's slightly amused face. "Oh! I'm sorry, it must be boring to listen to me drone on like that."

"Eh, quite the opposite actually," the red-coated man assured her. "Almost sounded like you were describing your favorite roller coaster at an amusement park." ' _Not that Jubei ever took me to one..._ '

"So long as you enjoyed hearing about," Cordelia told him with a smile of her own before she thought through his words. "Roller Coaster? Amusement Park?"

"A-Anyways, do you know a good barber?" he asked a little too quickly, trying to change the subject.

"I'm afraid I don't," Cordelia said, a creeping feeling starting to emerge and it started to show on her face. "Are you... planning on cutting your hair?"

"Well, that's the kind of the usual purpose of finding a barber, so yeah."

"NO!" the pegasus captain screamed, causing Ragna to take a step back in concern. Cordelia noticed her outburst only after she'd done it, now causing her face to grow red. "I... I sort of... like it... longer..." she told him, starting to fidget with her index fingers without making eye contact.

"...Is that so?" Ragna asked before chuckling lightly. "Well if you really feel that way, maybe I'll just cut it to what I had earlier just to get rid of any _unwanted_ attention. After that I'll try letting it grow out again for you. Does that work?"

"I... I suppose," Cordelia told him. "N-Not that I need to have any say in your hair, it's _your_ hair after all."

"Whatever you say," he told her with a smirk. "Now I just need someone to cut it."

"I could probably cut it if you wanted me to," she offered, her blush slowly fading from her face. "I've cut hair for the rest of the Shepherds so I can help you with yours if you want. I might even be able to get it back to what it once was."

"Heh, you really are a woman of many talents," Ragna noted aloud. "Sure, I guess I'll take you up on your offer. Might as well leave it to someone who knows what I want."

"Alright, follow me to my room," Cordelia instructed. As Ragna followed her, he realized that this would be his first time seeing Cordelia's room in the barracks. Sure he'd been in her room once or twice when they were on the road, but never at their home. "And... here we are," she told him as they arrived and she opened the door.

 _'Someone's neat,_ ' Ragna thought to himself as he saw everything in the room appeared to be freshly dusted, the bed appeared to be perfectly made, her small bookshelf appeared to be organized, and her armor and weapons were freshly maintained and hanging on either the wall or the nearby mannequin. Noticing that Cordelia had pulled up a chair for him as she readied her tools, the Reaper undid his coat and sword and set them against the wall. After she'd grabbed a small tub to place behind him, two small tarps to cover both him and the floor, and a small bucket of water it appeared she was ready.

"Now, lean back and close your eyes," she instructed. Ragna did so, feeling the cold water pour over him as Cordelia made his hair wet and easier to cut. The water was caught by the small tub as the Pegasus rider readied her scissors. "Just a warning; I'm mostly going off of memory here."

"That's fine," Ragna assured her as she began cutting. "Hair grows back, at least until I start becoming a balding old man."

"An old man?" Cordelia began thoughtfully before smiling. "I can't imagine you looking old. Maybe you'd have a beard?"

"I doubt it, I've never really been able to grow any facial hair," he told her before chuckling. "At least my hair wouldn't change color."

"Please, now you're making me self conscious," Cordelia told him with a laugh.

"Come on, you're still young," Ragna told her. "Don't think you'd have to worry about growing old for quite a while."

"Is that so?" the pegasus rider asked as she continued to clip his hair. "Then how old do you think I am?"

"...If it wasn't terrifying enough to be asked that question, you're asking me while you've got a pair of scissors to my head," he grumbled as the pegasus knight gave a small giggle. "Well... I dunno, eighteen maybe? That close?"

"You're not getting an answer, I was just curious," Cordelia told him before she let out a sudden shriek.

"What's wrong?" the Reaper asked, figuring she must've cut a little too much off in one place.

"I just cut a piece of your hair off and suddenly an entire section of it just sprouted up in the air!" she told him with shock. "How on earth does your hair even do that?"

"No clue, but I guess this means that you're getting close," Ragna told her.

After a while longer of working, Cordelia removed the tarp covering Ragna and held a small mirror in front of his face. It appeared that she'd done a fair job on his hair, now the mane was gone and it was spiking upwards like he was used to having it. The tub behind him had thin layer of hair covering the water, letting him know that she'd had to take quite a bit off.

"Thanks," he told her as he rose and grabbed his coat and sword and reequipped them. "Now that you've helped me out, what can I do to return the favor?"

"You don't need to do anything, really," Cordelia told him. "Trust me, it was nice enough just to get a chance to talk with you again like we used to."

"Come on, at least give me a chance to pay you back," Ragna told her. "How about dinner then?"

"D-Dinner?" Cordelia stuttered with surprise. "Y-You mean just the two of us?"

"Unless you've got other plans or want the others to come along," Ragna told her. "Interested?"

"I... I'd love to," Cordelia told him, a bright smile adorning her face. "Where were you planing on going?"

"I didn't have any set plans, but maybe we could just check around town and see if there's a good restaurant or something nearby. That sounds good to you?"

"It sounds excellent," Cordelia agreed. "Let's just clean out my supplies and we can get going."

Soon enough the two were walking the streets of the capital city. Ragna had never actually gotten much down time when he'd been in the capital (save for that one time Virion had dragged him off to a hostess bar), so this was one of the few times he'd actually managed to walk about the city instead of sticking specifically to the castle or the Shepherds barracks. The sun was setting off in the distance as the two walked around giving the town a very calming feel to it. A few merchants were still over the town, trying to push the last few of their wares before their day of business was over.

"This looks like a decent place," Ragna noted aloud as the two entered a tavern. The place was clean enough with townspeople seated at both the front bar and the tables adorning the area. The mood was especially festive, but the people were enjoying themselves as the talked among friends and family... though once they caught sight of Ragna, most of them quieted as they stared at the returned Reaper, a few glancing to the massive blade he carried on his back.

"...In hindsight, bringing my sword with us probably wasn't the smartest of moves," the Reaper admitted as Cordelia gave him a snarky smile saying _you don't say._ Trying to ignore the looks he was getting, the Reaper spotted an empty table in the corner and headed over with Cordelia. After being seated a nervous maid headed over.

"I-Is there anything I can get for the two of you?" she asked nervously.

"I suppose I'll have one of the meat pies," Cordelia told her. The maid nervously looked to Ragna who merely sighed before raising two fingers, indicating he wanted one as well.

"A-And to drink?"

"Is wine alright with you?" Cordelia asked her apparent date. Ragna nodded and the maid quickly hurried off to ready their food.

"Maybe we shouldn't have gone out," Ragna admitted worrying Cordelia. "I feel like I'm killing the mood of this place."

"I think people are just a little surprised to be seeing a man of legend," she tried to assure him.

"Man of legend? Whose been telling stories about me while... Virion?"

"Virion," Cordelia confirmed, leading Ragna to let out a low groan. "We didn't think that you were still alive, I think he just wanted to make sure you lived on for a while longer in local legends. Is that really so wrong?"

"I guess not..." Ragna admitted. "So... how has rebuilding the Pegasus knights been?"

"It's been... mixed," she told him. "There's not a lack of eager recruits hoping to join the Pegasus knights and protect the kingdom, but eagerness doesn't equal skill. They all have a drive to excel, but it's a learning process. Same for Sumia and myself who have to train them."

"Eh, with the two of you training 'em I'm sure they'll turn out fine," he assured her. The startled waitress soon returned with two goblets and a pitcher filled with wine. She gave the two a polite bow before heading off to cater to the other tables. Pouring a glass for his dinner guest before severing one for himself. "If there's anything I can help with, don't hesitate."

"I know you're always willing to lend an ear, but for now I think what we need most is time," she assured him. "Of course my parents are worried that I'm overworking myself, even though I'm constantly telling them that I'm fine..."

"Parents eh?" Ragna questioned, realizing that while he felt close with all of the Shepherds, didn't know their family situations. "...I guess it'd be weird if they weren't worried about their own daughter, even one with skills like you."

"Charmer," Cordelia told him playfully and Ragna couldn't help but chuckle. "I... I have a hard time talking about my parents..."

"Why? They're good people aren't they?"

"...The truth is, besides myself only a small handful of the other Shepherd's still have their parents. Even the Captain lost both of his at a very young age and Lissa was far too young to remember them. To most of them, the Shepherds is the only family they ever had..."

"No wonder everyone seems so close," the Reaper noted before taking a small sip from his goblet. Cordelia's lie before her, still untouched. "...Hey, it's nothing to feel guilty about and don't feel like you're an outsider just cause of this. You've been through the same hell like the rest of us and don't let anyone or anything say otherwise."

"...You always know what to say to keep me moving forward," Cordelia told him before giving a earnest smile, filled with gratitude. "Thank you Ragna."

"Heh, now who's the charmer?" Ragna asked with a chuckle. Cordelia giggled at the rhetorical question before raising her goblet.

"To the Shepherds," she said, her smile showing no sign of fading.

"To the family," Ragna agreed as they clinked glasses.

The two ended up stay longer at the restaurant than either had planned. Cordelia continued to tell him about the events during her training of the Pegasus knights. Ragna himself had already told her stories about his travels as the _Black Knight_ the night prior along with the rest of the Shepherds, so he settled for telling her about the crazy and chaotic events that had taken place that day... which was actually enough to fill the entire conversation on his part. Before long the pitcher of wine had been emptied and their pies had been brought ought and enjoyed.

"Pretty nice place," Ragna complimented as he fished a few gold out of his pouch and laid them on the table. "Maybe we should grab the rest of the Shepherds and bring 'em here sometime."

"If they're this distraught just seeing the two of us, I can imagine what they'd think if we brought our entire group with us," Cordelia told him. Ragna had to agree, even leaving now he was attracting a few looks and a few sideways glances from the dining patrons. "Just give it some time, they'll grow used to you soon enough."

"Here's hoping," Ragna said as the two exited the restaurant to head back to the barracks. The road back was deserted and empty, the only company the pair had was the chirping of the crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl; the sounds of the countryside. The Reaper let out a deep breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in, only to see Cordelia staring at him with innocent eyes. "...What?"

"You just seemed so... at peace I guess," she told him. "It's hard to think of a time when you weren't on guard at something even at the restaurant."

"Sorry about that... second nature," Ragna apologized with a grimace.

"No, no, it's fine! Especially after everything you've been through," Cordelia told him. "It's just... it's kind of nice to see this side of you. You should try to bring it out more often."

"...Usually if I want to I need someone else to bring it out for me," he admitted before turning to Cordelia with a warm smile. "I guess that makes you one of the few people that can manage to do that."

"Glad to be of help," Cordelia told them as the two continued their walk back. "I had an amazing night tonight Ragna, I hope we can do this again some time."

"Count on it, not much work for me besides helping in with the Shepherds," he told her. "But I can probably find a way to make time for you."

Cordelia smiled happily at the promise as the two walked back, a warm feeling of pride and happiness covering her body. But, as the two continued to walk on, the Pegasus knight became worried as she recognized this feeling she had when she was with Ragna... one of obsession.

 _'No... This can't... Not again...'_

 _ **Support Rank A Obtained with Cordelia**_

 _Meanwhile -The Shepherd's Barracks-_

"Heh, heh, heh."

That dark chuckle was the result of the Shepherd's newest dark mage. The reason for her cackling lay before her; a collection of herbs, incense, animal bones... and a large clump of silver hair.

"Soon enough Ragna," Tharja promised as she looked at the ingredients before her with mischievous eyes. "Soon enough..."

 _ **Author's Note IMPORTANT**_

 _ **Hey guys, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've got some bad news. As the winner of the poll I tried to set myself so that I'd be able to continue writing for this story until the 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **of next month... that's not going to be able to happen. I'm not canceling this story, but I hit a point of hard burn out. Hell, I had to rewrite that last scene with Ragna and Cordelia over ten times because I didn't know what I wanted to do (sorry if it shows).**_

 _ **What does this mean? Well like I said above, I won't be focusing on this story, I think I'll be giving it a well deserved hiatus (the first one for this particular story). As far as my other stories go I'm thinking of taking a Pseudo-Vacation for a while, maybe even the rest of the year. This means I'll be update what I want when I want to.**_

 _ **I know this isn't going to be a popular decision, but trust me on this one. If I hit a burn out and continue to try updating, my writing and ideas are going to suffer... and with heavy character interaction and romance chapters on the horizon, I don't think you'll want them written anything less than my best.**_

 _ **Anyways, on break for a while, but I can at least provide you guys with the promised Omake. Storm VII, signing off for now.**_

 _ **Exploration of the World**_

"Damn that took a long time to make, but in the end it was all worth it," Ragna said to himself aloud with no small sense of pride. He felt that he earned this feeling after having completed the large meal he'd prepared for himself. A slowly spit roasted chicken covered in a rub of his own personal creation, mashed potatoes with clumps of roasted garlic inside, and a loaf of freshly baked rosary bread. Placing the meal on a table in the empty mess hall and getting his silverware ready, he prepare to dig in.

 _ **BOOM!**_

A muffled explosion was heard off in the distance causing the entire garrison to shake. Ragna paused and craned his head in the direction of the explosion. He didn't hear any screams, nor did he smell anything other than the meal before him so he shook his had and was about to resume where he left off... right before a large shower of dust and dirt that had been shaken lose by the explosion fell right over his food (and the food only).

"..." Ragna stared at the ruined plate of food in front of him, unable to speak as his eye twitched uncontrollably in his rage. The was another rumble and another shower of dirt and dust, again over his food. "You've gotta be..."

Angrily standing up and marching out of the mess hall, Ragna grumbled under his breath his entire walk, making anyone that saw him quickly clear the way. It didn't take him long to reach the door in question and upon arriving he quickly pound his arm on it.

"Open up Kokonoe!" he demanded awaiting a response.

"Idiot! I'm in the middle of an experiment! If I wasn't so careful I could've have blown this entire place to pieces thanks to you!"

"That's exactly the problem I have with this!" Ragna shouted. "Open the damn door!"

"Why should I? You sure as hell aren't the boss of me," Kokonoe told him.

"Actually given my role in the Shepherds, the fact that I'm the guy who convinced Chrom to give you a place to stay AND the funding for most if not ALL of your projects... Yes, yes I am."

Kokonoe was silent for a long moment while Ragna stood outside and waited, his arms crossed and his mood souring by the moment. Eventually the door opened up to reveal Kokonoe with a heated glare in each of her yellow eyes and her hand hands moodily at her waist, one of them holding a lollipop.

"There I opened the door, does that mean I get a raise?" she asked him with an attitude that Ragna didn't appreciate.

"You're pushing it, cat," he muttered as he headed inside. Glancing around he say that her room was covered in sweets that she was keeping for later and science supplies, the entire room a cluttered mess. "Damn... How the hell do you even live in this dump?"

"Consider yourself lucky that I'm ignoring the fact that you just called this place a dump, the last worker that did that wasn't nearly as lucky."

"What? Did you end up dating them?" Ragna asked, irritating Kokonoe even further. "Just what is it that you're trying to do in the first place?"

"No end goal; just science. I've got a million different tests to run if I want to get any real progress in the data before... things turn ugly."

"Are you going through a technology withdrawal or something?"

"What do you think?" Kokonoe asked.

"I'm not a scientist, but I'd say it's pretty obvious that you are."

"Huh, you're actually smarter than you look... which is saying close to nothing."

"Riveting. Just keep the explosions down for god sake or do them somewhere else where I don't have to listen to them."

"Oh, is my work bothering you? Funny because I do these experiments at night and you don't seem to have any problem with them," she told him. "Is it because you sleep through them... or is it because you don't listen to Chrom and continue to train from dusk til dawn even after he promised you'd be on dishes for a month if he caught you doing it?"

"How the the hell do you know about that!? And follow up, you're the one in trouble here!" Ragna shouted.

"Am I though?" Kokonoe said as a smirk formed on her face. "Maybe neither of us has to be 'in trouble' as long as we both keep quite."

"Grr... Just keep it down," the Reaper growled to himself before exiting that room. "Seriously, that woman is just plain insufferable..."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Kokonoe**_


	34. Quiet and Calm

_**Chapter XXXIII: Quiet and Calm**_

Soaring in the cloud skies above Ylisstol capital were two mounted Pegasus rider, both of which were clad in bright silvery armor. The two had just spent a long day on patrol safeguarding the kingdom's boarders and were now returning how to report their findings... or lack of in this instance. Bringing both of their steeds into gentle dives, the two descended from the skies towards their barracks, the pegasi slowly trotting on the ground and coming to a controlled stop.

"Another day of patrolling... another lack of Risen," Cordelia said mostly to herself as she expertly dismounted from her pegasus before removing her helmet. Hearing the muffled _thud_ , she gave a small sigh as she turned to see Sumia having clumsily fallen to the ground, even her pegasus looking at its rider with a sense of disbelief. "...Is it your saddle again?"

"Probably..." Sumia said sadly as she removed her own helmet before slowly rising to her feet. Her pegasus then nuzzled her slightly as a form of comfort. "Aw thanks girl, you always know how to cheer me up." The two then made their way to the stables to return their horses and get them fed. "You look like you've got something on your mind Cordy..."

"I do; it's been far too quiet as of late," the young pegasus rider explained as the two continued to guide the Pegasi to the stables.

"Well Ragna did tell us that there was a noticeable lack of Risen when he was traveling around as the _Black Knight_ ," Sumia informed, briefly noticing Cordelia's strange... reaction when the Reaper's name was mention. "Uh... Cordy?"

"I'm just saying that there hasn't been any sign of conflict and it's not just the Risen," the redhead said, trying to take control the conversation's direction. "There hasn't even been a sign of banditry or highway extortion reported anywhere in the kingdom and we have patrols covering all of it. I won't say that I'm not happy... but I can't say I'm not worried either."

"Probably because we're so used to wartime," a sterner voice said. Turning their heads, the two saw the Great Knight Frederick standing in the stables apparently just having finished attending the to his horse. "During this last war we've been pushed to our limits more times than a few, settling into peace may be more than a little challenging."

"Ever on guard as always Frederick," Sumia told him proudly. "But we've had our peace for at least a few months now haven't we? Why has it been so difficult?"

"Well... perhaps until a few days ago we didn't realize our strongest asset was still among the living," the knight admitted, though his reaction was hard to get a grasp on. "If you'll pardon me, I'm needed for training elsewhere."

"Some people just don't seem to change, not matter what happens," Cordelia said as began tending to her Pegasus.

"That's Freddy for you," Sumia agreed with a smile.

"That's Freddy indeed," Frederick muttered under his breath as he continued his walk out of the stables, the girls unaware that he was still within distance to hear the two of them. "I've already completed my first one hundred fifty assignments of the day, let's see if I can get the other three hundred done before lunch."

 _ **Meanwhile -Shepherd's Training Barracks-**_

"Hah! Yer putting up a good fight! But there's no way I'm letting you beat me!" Sully declared as she pushed herself as hard as she could in the arm wrestling match.

"Enter the Vaike! No way Teach is going to lose when he's got his pride on the line!" the axe using warrior declared as used his bulging muscles.

"And I'm here too!" Kellam declared also putting pressure into the match. "Um... you guys are noticing me, right?"

"Honestly, right now I can hardly notice anything," Ragna the Bloodedge said with a smirk... as he held all three of them back with a single arm. "Come on, have the three of you gone soft since I've been away?" he taunted, appearing to barely use any of his strength.

"Well this is embarrassing," Gaius said from where he watched the three-on-one duel. "Figured Red would've stayed tough if he's been fighting Risen in that heavy armor, but it looks like he's gotten even better."

"I mean... it doesn't look like he's really changed or anything," Ricken said as he watched the intense battle of upper body strength. "He's still acting and looks the same as ever... I don't know, maybe he just feels stronger or something."

"Probably has something to do with Emmeryn's rescue," the thief thought aloud as the three continued to struggle while Ragna feigned a yawn with his free hand. "Okay, now he's just playing with 'em."

"Why don't you go in there and help them then?" Ricken questioned.

"Same reason you don't," Gaius told him. "I don't think I'd be able to add much to the effort, more of a hit fast and don't get hit than a hit hard enough so they don't get up." Gaius chuckled. "That and he's already showing off enough without another opponent to boost his ego."

"No kidding," Ricken agreed.

' _Looks like these three have improved,_ ' Ragna thought as the arm wrestling 'match' continued. ' _Normally Vaike would have tired himself up in the first few minutes, but now he's able to keep the pressure going. Sully would have gotten angry by now and would've lost control, but she's keeping her temper. Whilst with Kellam he'd be unsure of how much to commit 'cause he couldn't been seen, but now I can tell he's giving it his all.'_

"KEEP PUSHING! WE'VE GOT HIM ON THE ROPES!" Vaike declared as sweat poured from his face at the sheer effort.

"Fat chance," Ragna said with a snarky smirk upon his face. ' _...Hopefully I can keep this facade up a little longer, they're staring to wear me-' "_ GUH!?"

A creeping chill hit the Reaper dead in his spine and tormentingly spread throughout his entire body, leaving him to feel weak for the briefest of moments. Using the moment that they had to their advantage the three's combined push on the arm was nearly enough to bring it to the wooden table, leaving Gaius and Ricken shocked as they watched. Ragna's body quickly recovered from the strong effects before he brought the match around and slammed the three's hands to their side of the table.

"Really, had to fake us out to beat us?" Sully demanded as she was out of breath at the effort. "Talk about a killjoy..."

"Not my fault, just got a weird feeling all of a sudden," Ragna told her as he felt the back of his neck. "Seems to be gone though."

"Suuuuure, we'll believe that," Vaike said with a smirk as he rose. "Alright, time for Teach to hit the axes again."

"I'll head there with you; I've actually started practicing axes in my spare time," Kellam told him as he followed Vaike, though it was unclear whether or not the warrior had heard him.

"An' I've got to go and finally get a bath in," Sully told him. "Can't have all of this sweat scaring the guys away anymore than I already am."

"Trust me, sweat's the least of your worries," Ragna muttered, earning his head in a lock underneath Sully's arm as she proceeded to noggie him without mercy. "GAH! QUIT IT!"

"My bad, I thought a saw a damn bug on your head," Sully said with a harsh smirk as she let go of the Reaper, leading Ragna to rub the sore spot that had been abused. "See you around."

"Yare yare, she certainly hasn't changed," Ragna muttered to himself as he headed out of the training grounds himself, though through an exit leading away from his challengers.

 _ **Crimson and Darkness**_

"Hey," a sudden voice called out, causing the Reaper to pause in his walk. Turning his head he noticed a familiar dark haired girl as she emerged from the shadows.

"Hey yourself," Ragna bluntly said in return. "Tharja, right?"

' _He remembers my name? Be still my heart,'_ the dark mage happily thought to herself. "Yes, that's me. I was wondering if you'd want to enjoy a cup of tea... Unless you're busy with something else?"

"Not at the moment," Ragna told her. "'Sides, I've actually been wanting to talk to you again for a while now." With Tharja's normally darker complexion, the contrasting brightness in her smile that followed was all too easily seen by Ragna. The Reaper was surprised that the expression didn't seem forced... in fact it looked downright genuine.

"If you'd follow me then," Tharja said with a smile as she led the red coated man to her room.

Ragna wasn't exactly sure what he'd been expecting to find in Tharja's quarters, but it was... slightly on the stranger side. A few dark magic artifacts were placed along the room and runic circles were drawn all over. A collection of pouches laid on the desk, its contents a mystery to Ragna but he had a feeling there was most likely something occult inside each of them. Taking a seat at an open chair, Ragna waited as Tharja began to prepare the tea with an already brewed pot of hot water. The process didn't take long and just a bit later Tharja handed him a cup of freshly brewed (black, of course) tea.

"Thanks," Ragna said before taking the cup and taking a small sip. The tea itself was well enough prepared (still not to the level of Rachel's tea) and immediately gave his body a sense of warmth. "Damn, you have no idea what a relief this is right now."

"How so? Have you had a cold lately?" Tharja questioned him as she held her own mug.

"Not really; just sort of got a brief chill earlier, passed quick enough though," the Reaper explained.

' _All he felt was a brief chill?'_ Tharja thought to herself. ' _It wouldn't have harmed him, but he should have felt frozen in place for at least a few minutes... He's not immune to my curses, but his natural resistances are... resistant.'_

"Though that's not why I wanted to see you," Ragna admitted, snapping Tharja out of her thoughts. "I... actually wanted to apologize to you..."

"Apologize? My dear Ragna, how could you have possibly wronged me?" the dark mage questioned sweetly.

' _That's an alarming change in tone,_ ' Ragna thought to himself nervously. ' _This chick planning some kind of revenge?_ ' "That's something that I don't really know. All I saw was that one second you were about to try and tear into to me, and the next you fall to the floor covered in sweat... I was worried something had happened to you."

"Ever the gentlemen," Tharja said with slight boredom, having witnessed similarly uninteresting behavior before and being disappointed that Ragna seemed to possess it.

"You'd be surprised; most of the time I'm a pretty big ass," he admitted with a laugh of self mockery. "Pick up on that yet?"

"...Maybe I did," Tharja said, her strange little smile returning as Ragna continued to laugh in self mockery. "Apology accepted Ragna, I'd hate for there to be any bad blood between the two of us."

The two ended up conversing with each other for the better part of a half hour, just trying to engage in mild banter and to tell of any mild discoveries. Ragna had been a little off-put by Tharja's more Gothic attitude when he'd met her, but by now the dark mage was a completely different person. One he was easily able to talk to as peers. Eventually the Reaper thanked her for the tea and excused himself, only for Tharja to insist that they do this again sometime.

"...Hehehehehehehe, perfect," Tharja thought to herself as her face once more turned creepy once Ragna had gone. "Cursing myself with normality seemed to do the job impressively well and it lasted just as long as I needed it to. Now all I need to do is prepare another incantation for our next meeting. Heh, heh, heh, heh..."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Tharja**_

 _Ylisstol Township_

' _...Shit, everyone's still staring at me,_ ' Ragna thought as he traversed through the city. ' _I thought after I went out with Cordelia things would have calmed down, but I guess I'm still not that lucky...'_

Everywhere he went it didn't matter who it was; guards, merchants, shoppers, children even. Everyone seemed to have this uncontrollable urge to look at the red coated and mysterious Reaper. He was glad that he'd had enough foresight to leave _Blood-Scythe_ back in the barracks... then again it might have been easier for the people to avert their gazes if he'd been glaring _and_ armed.

"Some things just won't change," the Reaper told himself aloud as he continued traversing through the noisy market place.

"Apples for sale!" one farming merchant called. "Apples for sales! Fresh from the orchards and as big as they come!"

Taking a look at the produce on display, Ragna could tell that this man wasn't stretching the truth. The apples did look plenty large and the perfect shade of red for eating. Figuring he'd grab a quick snack, he headed over and read for one of the coins in his pocket.

"I'll take one," Ragna told the man.

"Perfect my friend," the merchant said as he turned. "That'll be two bronze- Sir Ragna!?"

"Present, though I don't remember becoming a Sir," Ragna told the man as he flipped him a silver coin which the owner fumbled with before the Reaper grabbed an apple from the top of the stand.

"I-I can't accept payment from you," the farmer told him nervously. "Not after what you've done for Lady Emmeryn."

"Keep it, I'd feel like a sleaze if I didn't pay," he insisted before biting down and chewing. "That's a damn good apple, I'll have to tell Chrom about this place." With that the Reaper left, leaving the man to look at the silver coin in his palm and endlessly repeating Ragna's last statement in his head.

 _ **Re-Introductions**_

"Right then, where to now?" Ragna questioned as he continued to walk the streets of the capital.

"Thank you milady, you've given me the guidance I need," he overheard one townswoman say not far from him. "I'm sure that with your blessing my son's fever will part soon enough."

"When it does it won't be because of my words, but because of your devotion to curing his sickness," Tiki told the woman. "Take pride in your role as a mother, it will help to shape the next generation."

"As you say, blessings to you," the woman said as she left, caring a basket of herbs and other supplies as she left. Ragna noticed that while Tiki was still smiling, she gave a tired sigh.

"This still common for you?" Ragna asked making his presence known as Tiki turned to face him.

"Sir Kni-, I'm sorry, Ragna," Tiki said to him, trying to keep a warm greeting. "Yes, this has been happening more and more to me as of late... especially after Emmeryn's speech."

"I'm surprised you're still able to keep up with the people, must have a crap ton of... willpower." Ragna's pause on his sentence's end was due to the stare Tiki had directed at the apple he held in his hand. "...Someone hasn't changed," he muttered as he broke the apple in two and tossed the uneaten half to the manakete.

"Would you have wanted me to?" Tiki questioned with something of a girlish giggle. "...I have to admit though... I'm having a touch of trouble with you."

"Great, what'd I do now?" Ragna said with a groan before he took another large bite out of his now split apple.

"As soon as you took that armor off, it was like you became a different person," she told him as the two began walking the streets with each other. "I'm not inclining to say that it was a bad thing. You just... carry yourself differently."

"Yeah, two tons of armor will do that to a person's posture," Ragna joked.

" _Sir Knight_..." Tiki began with disappointment.

"Hey, I thought you wanted to call me Ragna."

"I did, but now you're in trouble," she accused him. Ragna didn't try to argue with her. "Back when we were traveling together, you seldom talked about yourself and were grimly serious. But now that you're back in the company of your friends you seem much more outgoing, much..."

"Happier?" Ragna suggested. "Probably because I am... Knowing that I'd managed to save someone important to me and seeing the rest of the Shepherds in good health... well it finally felt like I could stand tall again... but I guess I could see where you're coming from. Giving the fact that I'm acting so differently and I'm not wearing the armor anymore, I guess it would be hard to treat us both as the same person." ' _Kind of like a masked freak I used to know...'_

"So you understand my problem," Tiki told him.

Pausing for a moment, Ragna gave a gentle smile before turning to face Tiki and holding out his right hand and surprised her. "Guess we'll just have to start from the beginning then. Call me Ragna."

"I was having similar thoughts," Tiki said as she accepted his hand and gave it a friendly shake. "A pleasure to meet you Ragna, you may call me Tiki."

Smirking to himself, Ragna continued his walk with a once prior companion... though Tiki's thoughts drifted elsewhere. ' _I could feel darkness as soon as I touched him... an overwhelming darkness. I know what I saw in that vision when we first met... but could someone with such hatred towards the Risen as he truly be Grima's catalyst? It can't be... but I may be forced to ask that difficult question later.'_

 _ **Support Rank C Obtained with Tiki**_

 _Later -Castle Ylisse: Chrom's Office-_

"Forget it," Ragna said with authority.

"But Ragna-!" Chrom tried to protest.

"Not a chance," the Reaper insisted yet again.

"Try to be reasonable about this," Robin told him. "It's just for-"

"I told you to forget it," Ragna told the both of them. "I'm wearing my own clothes to the ball and that's final."

"...What if we forbade you?" Chrom asked with a heated glare at his best friend.

"What? You think that would get me to wear those nobility clothes? I'd just as soon wear my armor just to spite you."

"He has a point."

"NOT HELPING LISSA," Chrom angrily told his younger sister. "...Fine then, the armor it is."

"You're serious?" Ragna said.

"No, he isn't," Robin said as she glared at her secret fiance. "Are you really going to cave in so quickly to a tantrum?"

"LOOK AT WHO WE'RE WORKING WITH!" Chrom shouted exasperatedly. "At least this is something he'll only wear on rare occasions!"

' _Tantrum?_ ' Ragna thought to himself.

"True, but can you guarantee that he won't be wearing that helmet?" Robin demanded with a glare at Ragna who raised his hand defensively.

"Unless there's a noble or two you want me to scare, I think the armor alone is plenty," he told the both of them.

"I certainly hope there isn't a need for it, I don't want anything going wrong," his surrogate sister told him, continuing to glare.

"Wow, you're being really serious about this Robin," Lissa said with a giggle. "I'd hate to see what you'd be like at your own wedding."

' _Oh shit,'_ the engaged couple thought simultaneously, unable to keep their faces passive. In a split instant, Lissa was about to turn her head, see their expressions, find out their secret, and ruin the surprise (there wasn't a secret around that the young princess could keep). As the young princess glanced over to the two-

"Seriously? Robin, married? What guy would be crazy enough to put up with her?" ...For as much as she needed a savior, Robin had at least hoped Ragna would ease on his snark. "I mean, we both know how quick she is to fly off the handle in anything other than tactics."

"Excuse you!?" the fellow silver hair yelled at him almost immediately, leading for Lissa to giggle uncontrollably as Ragna was proven correct.

"Wh-what about C-Chrom?" she said between her giggling, leaving the two to glance at each other with concern and risk their secrecy once more. (Un)Fortunately, it was Ragna to the rescue yet again.

"With how whipped she's got him? He'd have to be insane to even think about it," he said before giving a wolfish smile to the prince. Chrom knew a blow was coming... he hadn't counted on how hard it'd hit. " _Unless he likes it that way, of course_." Lissa's laughter was unstoppable as the two engaged gave dark glares at the all too smug swordsman.

"Both of you... out of my office... NOW," the future Exalt ordered them both. Giving a somewhat mocking bow, Ragna escorted the still cackling Lissa out of the office. "...That man..."

"Hard to believe we ever missed him," Robin said with her own groan, before giving her fiance a passive smile. "And still, it's even harder to imagine the Shepherds without him. Talk about a dilemma."

"Do you still want to-?" Chrom began, only to silence when Robin put a finger to his lips.

"Lissa could be trying to listen to us, but I can't think of anyone else to do it," she warned the price. "We'll tell him soon enough..."

 _ **Dearest Friends**_

' _That was too close,'_ Ragna thought to himself as Lissa continued to fall victim to his joking. "Come on, it wasn't that funny."

"Y-Yes it was," the princess said as her cackling was finally interrupted by a cough of nearly suffocating on her own laughter.

"Jeeze kid, it's called air; breath some," the Reaper told her as Lissa continued to cough.

"How rude!" the Reaper overheard one of the nobles as they passed by him. "Even if he is the _supposed_ hero of the kingdom, to think he'd treat the princess like such a brute!"

"Indeed," his wife agreed. "If that man had done something and acted with such vulgarity to our daughter I'd have sent him to the stockades at the very least... That man is far too cozy to the royal family; he needs to learn some humility."

"Pot calling the kettle black," Ragna muttered angrily under his own breath.

"D-*whew*-did you say something?" Lissa asked him as she finally managed to catch her breath.

"Nothing, just a couple of annoying flies," Ragna told her, leaving the princess feeling confused... before her stomach's noises revealed what she really was feeling was hunger pangs. "Heh, want to grab dinner?"

"Dinner sounds good," Lissa couldn't help but agree. "Where to?"

"I'll leave this choice to the Lady; can't really say I know the area around the city too well," he admitted.

"Oh, I know the perfect place! Marribelle and I go there all the time!" Lissa told him with a smile. "They serve the best sweets you've ever had!"

"I said dinner, not desert," Ragna reminded.

"Oh, uh... I think they serve regular food too."

"You _think_ , meaning you don't really know," the Reaper said with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"He-Hey, don't blame this on me," Lissa said with a pout. "It's not my fault that stew doesn't go well with tea..."

' _Almost sounds like a challenge now that I think about it,'_ Ragna considered before saving the thought for later. "Well I don't have anywhere better to go, so I guess we'll try it after all."

"Hehe!" Lissa said with a victorious smile as she grabbed Ragna's arm and began forcefully leading him to her choice venue of dining. "Come on, let's go!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming, you don't need to drag me," told her as he thought back to when she did this just to show him the Shepherd's barracks. ' _I guess some things never really change._ '

As it would turn out, the two wouldn't have to travel that far after all. After guiding Ragna out of the castle, Lissa led him down to the nobility district. As a means of avoiding annoyances, this would actually be Ragna's first visit to that particular district of the capital. Aside from Lissa, Marribelle, and the very few other friends he had in the nobility, the upper-class people were mere annoyances to Ragna who would only try to either put fault with him or try and find a way to use him to get closer to the royal family.

The nobility district didn't look that different from the regular masses of the capital anyways. Sure there were small displays of flowers that looked like they'd been expertly attended to and instead of tightly quartered houses these nobles lived in much larger mansions, but Ragna found that superficial at best.

"Is that the princess?" he overheard one noble's daughter say as Lissa led him through the district streets. "Who's that man she's with?"

"You've never heard of him?" another daughter whispered. "That's Sir Ragna of the Shepherds. There are stories of him slaying entire forces of those filthy Plegians and the Risen monsters single-handedly."

"So he's supposed to be the warrior you've been talking about," another noble said. "Wasn't he rumored to have died?"

"He was, but it was revealed that he was secretly the _Black Knight_ all along."

"THAT _Black Knight_? ...I must say though, he doesn't look nearly that impressive."

' _I'll show 'em impressive,'_ Ragna thought angrily to himself, only to notice that Lissa herself was scowling. "Tell me we're almost to the place..."

"Yeah, we are," the young princess told him though she remained angry. "I wish they wouldn't talk about you like you weren't here."

"Meh, I've come to expect this and worse from these people, they're always going to try and put me down," Ragna told her before give a calmer smile. "It just tells me that through it all, I'm still as much of a rebel as I've ever been."

"My brother can agree with that," Lissa told him, looking a little happier as she remembered the conversation in Chrom's office.

Eventually the two made their way to the restaurant that Lissa had been trying to lead them to. The place wasn't the largest of any of the other dining options of the noble district, but it was up there. Walking inside, Ragna noticed that the place seemed to be popular for the ladies of the nobility, more specifically their late teen daughters and their children. Like Ragna had gathered from Lissa's claim of sweets, many of the countless tables were adorned with sweets, but he did notice a meat pie and the other occasional dinner course on the table.

"Princess Lissa! Welcome back!" a cheery young woman who appeared to be closer to Ragna age greeted the princess. She was wearing maid clothes, not unlike those he saw at the castle. "I'm surprised that you didn't decide to bring Lady Marribelle with you, the two of you are always together when you come here."

"Well I have Ragna here with me, so that's at least a little close," Lissa said with a smile leaving the other woman to stare at Ragna for a moment, apparently not having realized that he was here with Lissa.

"I see... well I can either get you a table in the center like you have with Marribelle or off to the side if you'd like to dine somewhere more private."

Lissa glanced to her plus-one who merely gave her a shrug. While he figured spending time more private would likely save him a large headache tonight, he realized that people would have to deal with the fact that he was back. "We'll take a table in the center. We sort of came here for the atmosphere after all."

' _I have to hope we don't have to leave 'cause of said atmosphere,'_ Ragna thought somewhat worriedly as he remembered the nearly unending awkward silence when he'd tried this with Cordelia. As they were lead by their host to their table, a few of the ladies of nobility paused in their conversation as Ragna and the princess passed them by, but then seemed to return to their conversations like nothing had happened. ' _That's it, just keep ignoring us... please.'_

"And here we are," the maid said as she lead the two to a table in the center of the room, covered in white cloth. At the center was a small display with exotic sweets piled on. As Lissa made her way to her chair, Ragna made a point to pull it out to help seat the princess. Lissa gave him a small smile in thanks before he took his own seat. "Do the two of you know what you want or would you like to hear our specials for this evening?"

"I'll hear the specials; never really been to this type of place before," Ragna told her. Lissa also nodded in agreement, so she continued.

"We've got a few new recipes of Plegian sweets that we've just added recently. There not to difficult to make and could have a few ready quickly. Baring that we have the confections you see in front of you along with a few of our well known meat pies or our stew."

"I'll take a bowl of the stew then," Ragna told her before turning to Lissa who also nodded in agreement.

"Very well then, and to drink?"

"Oh! I know of a really good tea here," Lissa told Ragna. The Reaper figured it was probably that naturally sweet tea Marribelle had shown him yesterday, but simply decided to nod and trust the princess's judgment. "Two of the regular please!"

"As you wish princess," the maid told them. "I'll be out with your food in a few moments, please feel free to help yourself to the sweets until then." Lissa did just that as the maid left, starting to add some of the desserts to the plate in front of her.

"I thought we came here for dinner," Ragna reminded bluntly.

"Hey, it'd be rude not to take at least one of them," Lissa told him, with no less than four sweets already on her plate.

"...Just don't get a stomach ache, alright?" Ragna pleaded with a small sigh, leaving Lissa to giggle at him, as did a few of the ladies apparently listening in. ' _Damn, looks like not all of 'em are going to stick to their own business.'_

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Lissa assured him. "I'm kind of surprised you didn't decide to ask for one of the meat pies, that was what we got the last time we did this."

"It was?" Ragna asked thinking back. It took him a moment, but he remembered when the Shepherds had been sent to South Town a second time after a Risen force had invaded. That was when he'd met Elphelt and... he had gone and grabbed a meal with Lissa while he'd been there, and it had been a meatpie. "Jeeze, you really remember that far back? That's impressive."

"Because I'm an impressive princess," Lissa declared proudly. Ragna just gave her a small smirk. "Hey! Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Am I supposed to comment on that?" he joked with her as he sat back and relaxed. "But damn, that feels like a lifetime ago, but it was what? Just a few months?"

"Yep, just a few," Lissa agreed. "Any reason why it feels so much longer to you?"

 _ **(Besides the Author taking so long to update this thing you mean? Sorry!)**_

"...I guess because there's been a lot of stuff in between; most good, some... well, some that seemed to take its time," the Reaper said, thinking to his previous solitude as the _Black Knight_. Deciding he'd try to be a little less gloomy, he gave Lissa a warm smile. "I dunno, maybe it was because I didn't have a certain troublemaker to pass the time with."

"Hee! Don't worry Ragna; I missed you too," Lissa told him with a large grin. "But isn't troublemaker kind of harsh?"

"If anything it's an understatement; I've heard stories of all of the pranks you've been pulling lately," the Reaper told her, something that Lissa never confirmed nor denied. "Which begs the question; why haven't you tried pulling any on me?"

"So you call me a troublemaker, yet you're feeling left out of the pranks?" the princess asked him. "Well, if you insist Ragna, how can I-?"

"That's not what I'm getting at, and I'm sure as hel- heck, that you know it," Ragna told her, catching himself before he swore (he's been trying to limit his swearing as of late). "What I am saying is that I'm something of a magnet for awkward situations and hijinx like that, so I'm wondering why you haven't tried to pull anything on me."

"Well... what if I told you its cause I'm still planning yours out?" Lissa asked with a mischievous smile. "What if I told you that that I want my prank to be the best one yet so that I can get the biggest reaction out of you that I can? What if I told you-?"

"What if I told you that I already know what kind of person you are and that I know you would never plan a prank out like you're claiming right now?" Lissa couldn't come up with a rebuttal against Ragna's skeptical gaze. "Like I had asked..."

"I... I dunno, maybe because you're already hilarious enough without my pranks?" Lissa suggested. "Like all of the arguments you and Chrom keep getting into?"

"Hey, earlier was a rare exception; I usually don't roast him nearly that hard," the Reaper admitted as he scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment. Yet again the ladies surrounding the two's table giggled and began whispering words of gossip among themselves. ' _Mind your own business dammit, and they call me rude..._ '

"Pardon the interruption, but I've brought you both your tea," the serving girl said as she set a small yet formal cup in front of the two before pouring each of them a cup with the fresh brewed pot. Leaving the said pot on the table the woman gave a respectable bow. "You're meal will be out shortly, please ask any of the staff if there's anything else you desire."

"I think we'll be fine, but thanks," Ragna told her, deciding he'd wait for the steaming mug to cool. Judging by the smell, this was indeed the sugary tea that he'd had yesterday. He fought back a sigh as he remembered the all too sweet taste... while staring as Lissa added three sugar cubes to her cup. ' _Unbelievable_.'

"...Um, is there any reason you're staring at me?" Lissa asked, leaving the Reaper to avert his gaze.

"Your eccentric personality maybe?" Ragna muttered leaving Lissa to blush slightly. Noticing the giggle from the surrounding noblewomen yet again, the Reaper finally decided he'd bring up one of the many elephants in the room. "So... are guys are even allowed in this place? I feel like I'm sticking out like a sore thumb, more than usual."

"I don't think there are any _rules_ against bringing guys here," Lissa told him as she glanced around. "I mean, I think this is just one of those places that ladies come more often."

"Have you even seen another guy here besides me?" Ragna questioned.

"Well there's the time Virion-"

"Doesn't count in the slightest."

"Libra was here too, but I think some Nobles might have mistaken him for a woman and brought him here by mistake," Lissa admitted.

"Is that the priest that we met back in Plegia, the one Chrom and those soldiers... right," Ragna said thinking back to the awkwardness Chrom had gone through when he realized Libra was indeed a man. "That was a weird meeting."

"That was when we met Tharja too," Lissa remembered. "She seemed to change side at the drop of a hat and she's been stalking Robin ever since."

"I've noticed," Ragna muttered.

"Though lately, she's been leaving her alone... I wonder why?" Lissa considered.

 _'I'll have to ask her next time I see her_ ,' Ragna thought to himself before sipping the warm tea. As expected, it was almost painfully sweet, but he did his best to choke it down and keep his expression passive. Lissa took a sip of her tea... before adding another two sugar cubes. ' _HOW!?_ '

"He... hehehehe," Lissa giggled after a moment, leaving Ragna understandably confused. "Your face just there, it did something similar to Robin's whenever I prank her."

"That so?" Ragna asked before deciding he could stand to have a little snark. "Well then I'm glad to see you're so taken by my face, princess."

"R-Ragna!" Lissa hissed, fighting to keep her blush down and having to settle for concealing it with her hands while Ragna chuckled. Once more the noble ladies seemed to be whispering about the two, but he decided he wouldn't care. "Don't laugh at me like that..."

"I laugh _with_ everyone, you're not getting the short end of the stick," the Reaper told her. "...That and Chrom would be annoyed if he was the only one I ever made fun of."

"You two are like brothers, you know that?" Lissa asked him. "I mean, to him, Emm, and me you're practically family."

"...That's nice to know," Ragna said with a genuine smile. "It really is..." He then gave a more jolly chuckle. "So if Chrom and I our like brothers, I guess that mean you've got two older brothers now?"

"Not really," Lissa told him happily. "You're like a brother to Chrom, but you're a little different to me."

"Really? Then what does that make me?" he asked, a little curious of the princess's perception.

"Not telling!" she declared.

"Aw c'mon, you can't just lead me on like that and leave me hanging," Ragna muttered.

"I'm a princess, so I think that's well within my rights," Lissa declared. "Consider this as payback for all of teasing you've been doing."

"...If that's as bad as I'm going to get it I don't see any reason why I can't continue," he told her with his usual snark.

"Do you want me to worsen your punishment then?" Lissa threatened with a small glare.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll ease up ma'am," Ragna gave in with a sigh.

"Good to hear!" Lissa giggled. Despite himself, Ragna couldn't help but laugh. Things always seemed to lighten up whenever he'd spend his time with the princess.

 _ **Later**_

After the two had finished their meal, Ragna made a point to escort Lissa back to the castle. Much like when he'd taken Cordelia back the day before, neither of the two seemed to talk much in their walk, but Ragna still found himself very much at ease while Lissa it seemed could help but continue to smile. Eventually though, the two made their way to the castle entrance.

"Guess I'll be seeing you around then," Lissa told him, trying to smile while still a little disappointed that their night out was ending.

"Yeah, I mean there's definitely the ball," Ragna reminded her. "Thanks for showing me the place, it was... nice."

"Ragna..." He knew why Lissa was scowling; she didn't like the thought of being lied to by the Reaper.

"It was! With present company at least," he told her before chuckling. "Next time though, I'm choosing the place we're going to. Deal?"

"Deal!" Lissa said before tackling her friend with a hug. Ragna lurched slightly under the force, but just gave a small sigh as he returned the much shorter woman's hug. "See you then."

"Yeah, see you there..." Ragna said with a smile. As Lissa headed into the castle, Ragna began making his way to the barracks, giving a small laugh at the absurdness of it all. "Here I am, a former terrorist; I still can't stand Nobles at all, but now I'm 'family' with the Royalty? What a world..."

 _ **Support Rank A Obtained with Lissa**_

 _ **Author's Note**_

 _ **For all of you asking for the next chapter, here it finally is. I've had this one in the oven for a while now, and I finally decided to finish it off and post it on a Wednesday instead of Friday.**_

 _ **I know Lissa's date what a little similar to Cordelia's, but the next few will start to try and mix it up a tad more. Anyways, Omake time.**_

 _ **Loyal, No Matter The Setting**_

"And you've been giving me crap for working too hard," Ragna muttered with a sigh.

"I don't want complaints, I need you to help," Chrom told him. "I've tried talking to him and he's done nothing but send me away every time."

"Funny, I thought he'd only be that rude with me..."

"Well he did give the offer to work on advancing magic where he could and asked if there were any requests for his turn as chef tomorrow... Saw a bit of Frederick in him."

"I'm not surprised... Fine, I'll talk. Don't expect any miracles though, I'm sure as hell not." Leaving Chrom slightly surprised outside, Ragna headed into Ylisse Castle's main library. Heading through the countless row of books on the kingdom's history, he finally came to the row that contained the magic tomes... and the werewolf he was looking for. ' _Well I found him,'_ he thought as he approached. _'Now what am I supposed to say to him?_ '

"Try not to breath so loudly, you're breaking my concentration," Valkenhayn R. Hellsing told the Reaper, not raising his elderly head from the tome.

"You've just got a bone to pick with me old man; there could be a damn war outside and you wouldn't even miss a word," Ragna told him crossing his arms. "I'm just asking for five minutes."

"You get one," Valkenhayn told him. Flipping through twenty pages in the blink of an eye before shutting the book, he committed the books contents to memory.

"Wow, I was expecting only half of one," Ragna muttered. "You know you're not going to find anything in here right? The _Boundary_ is a one way ticket only and the fact that you managed to make it here with me is enough of a miracle."

"Hmph, you're best not commenting on things you yourself have no idea on. In my research I've managed to acquire many theories regarding something known as the _Outrealm._ What have you found?"

"Nothing, because I'm not bothering to look," Ragna told him off. "Look, I don't care if you have to keep searching until the sun burns out, but at least get some rest. It looks pretty damn bad on me if you don't... and I'm the guy the got you into the library in the first place."

"...Crude, unsavory, and brutish as it is I'll borrow a page from your book whelp; _Make. Me._ " Valkenhayn then opened the tome to resume his research.

"You said I got a minute; thirty seconds..."

"Use them then, I can multitask," the butler told him.

"Rachel _could_ already be here," the Reaper suggested.

"Impossible, if she were I'd know. And she'd have found you," Valkenhayn insisted.

"Maybe not," Ragna told him. "Teleportation works differently in this world than our own, she might not be able to cover ground like you and I can."

"All the same I'd need to return milady home to where she belongs, my honor and duty as her butler depends on it," Valkenhayn told him before sighing. "And... I suppose I'd have little choice but to leave the chance of finding her to you if she is here."

"Sorry, what was that last part?" Ragna asked, a shit-eating smirk upon his face.

"I said your minute is up, now leave," the butler ordered.

"Fine, fine..." Ragna asked as he started walking away. "I'll bring you some dinner then so you don't have to stop working."

"That's an... odd act of kindness," Valkenhayn told him.

"Kindness nothing; I'm doing it so you can get the hell out of here already," Ragna told him as he walked off to grab the werewolf his food.

"...Hmph, the feeling is rather mutual here, pup."

 _ **Support Rank C Obtain with Valkenhayn R. Hellsing**_

 _ **And that's the Omake done, now... REVIEW RESPONSES ARE BACK!**_

 _EpicLinkSam_ : I've taken my break, BACK STRONG!

 _Veemaster:_ I'll get to Olivia soon enough. Don't worry.

Fernandonoguera99: Thanks for the support, I managed to get back to it.

The Unplanner: I'd say he does, he at least knows what a date is.

 _Marconator360_ : I've rested.

 _Kuroll_ : I think my trouble is committing to a story. If I just wanted to do 12 chapters of one story in a row by chance, they'd be no problems.

 _Adv_ : Thanks, with Ragna's hair being so long, I thought it'd be a crime if I didn't do something with it.

 _Medblare_ : Well, I did get sick when I was writing this chapter a while back.

 _Detinc_ : Aw, you flatter me.

 _Guest_ : I don't play Mass Effect or Halo, but I'm taking it slow.

 _Touhoufanatic_ : Well Nu's great, I'd just rather make her a strong focus if I write her in a story.

 _Monkiepawn_ : Meh, to each their own.

 _Qreq_ : But it is one, my earlier messages discrediting it were later changed overruled.

 _Arcivus N. Sense_ : If is good...

 _Reclusive Dork_ : Maybe I'll do something like that specifically in my GG fic when it gets there.

 _Guest42_ : Wow, has it been that long?

 _Player089_ : That does seem to becoming more popular.

 _Mark the Mark_ : Sorry, no next gen kids as a pairing...

 _Mark the Mark_ : Keep reading...

 _ **Until Next Time Everyone! Not sure what I'll update next, but be on the lookout for it!**_

 _ **Ciao!**_


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